The Easy Song Note
by The Last Kunoichi
Summary: She was such a simple note to play. She made it almost too easy. She woulde never find the truth out, would she? KabuxOC PS: I don't own Naruto!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"You lied to me!"

"Mio, listen to me-"

"Listen to you? _Listen to you!? _There's no way I'm listening to you!"

"Mio-!"

"Kabuto, get off!" Mio struggled against Kabuto's arms, the very last place she wanted to be. "Why would you do such a thing!? I trusted you!"

"I did such a thing because I love-"

"Well, you obviously don't, because if you really loved me, you wouldn't have done it!" Kabuto loosened his hold around Mio, some what shocked. But Mio wasn't finished yet.

"I can't believe I fell for it… Hollow promises, empty affection, and _false words of love!_" She pushed Kabuto away from her and glared at him with tear-filled green eyes.

"Mio, you don't know what you're saying!" Kabuto said.

"I know very well what I'm saying, Kabuto Yakushi!" Mio snarled. She reached up to her head and began to untie her headband. "I've had enough of you, Orochimaru, and the whole damn Sound Village!" With that, she threw her down headband and ran off.


	2. Chapter 1

****

Chapter One

"Come on, Mom, please let me go!" Mio pleaded her mother. "I already told Ibiki I could!"

"Forget it, Mio," Amaya, Mio's mother, said. "The Chuunin Exams are no place for a lady." Mio rolled her eyes.

"You do realize there will be many kunoichi there, Mom?" she pointed out.

"Many _what?_" Amaya eyed her daughter.

"Kunoichi- They're female ninja," Mio explained. "See? The Chuunin Exams are for both men _and_ women!"

"You call those ragamuffin broads women?" Amaya questioned.

"Mother!" Mio cried, scandalized.

"Listen to me, Mio-chan," Amaya said. "Ninja or not, you are not going with Ibiki to the Chuunin Exams. Point finale."

"But I already told Ibiki I could!" Mio repeated. "If I can't be a kunoichi, at least let me be around them! At least I can take a look at what I could have been!"

"Oh, Mio, don't start," Amaya scolded. "I've told you time and time again that real ladies do not become ninja; Are you a lady or aren't you?"

"You can still be a lady as a ninja," Mio argued, "except you've got the adventure and dangerous mystery in your life!"

"Women shouldn't have adventure in their lives," Amaya shot back. "Women should stay at home and look after the house and family while the men go off and fight or do whatever shinobi do."

"Mom, that's really sexist."

"It's not called 'sexist', Mio, it's called 'proper'."

"Oh, Mom, it's not like I'm all of a sudden going to become a kunoichi, just let me go!"

"Mio, I said no!" Amaya snapped. Angry, Mio marched upstairs, made her way into her room, slammed the door, and locked it. Sighing, she flopped down onto her bed and hugged her pillow to her chest.

It just wasn't fair.

Ever since she was six, Mio wanted to be a ninja. She was inspired by her older brother and his long time friend, Ibiki Morino. Both men were superb shinobi, and Mio was always intrigued by their stories of valour, importance, and daring adventure, and soon decided she wanted to serve Konahagakure as a kunoichi.

Amaya, however, had different plans for her daughter.

Amaya cam from a very traditional family, where her mother was a stay at home house wife, and her father was a shinobi. Amaya was taught that the woman's place was the home, and she held onto that rule like a child hangs onto his most treasured toy. And she tried to pass that rule down to Mio… _Tried, _anyway.

On top of being very old-fashioned, Amaya was also no one to be pushed around. And being married to an easy going, quiet man that didn't really meddle with his wife's and daughter's affairs accentuated her controlling and bossy manner. So, upon hearing Mio's kunai and jutsu filled dreams, Amaya tried to squish all the 'ninja' out of her.

But Amaya hadn't succeeded yet. Mio wanted to be a ninja more than ever after Ibiki offered to take her to see what the first stage of the Chuunin Exams were like. But she knew it was impossible to become a kunoichi now; she was nineteen, there was no way she'd even get into the Academy.

_Well, what am I supposed to do now? _Mio wondered. She rolled onto her stomach and gazed out her window, watching the branch of a huge tree outside reach for the sill.

_Ibiki's going to be waiting for me, what do I do? _Mio studied her window and the branch extending towards it. An evil grin crept onto her face.

Wasting no time, she hoped off her bed, grabbed her shoes and shoved her feet in them. She walked over to window, and opened it, and was about to put her foot out onto the branch, but she ran back to her bedroom door and pressed her ear to it. No one was coming. She ran back to the window, and cautiously put one foot on the sturdy branch, slowly making her way out of her room.

_Don't look down, don't look down… _Mio told herself as her tried her best to balance herself on the branch. She closed her window as quietly as she could, and slowly walked toward the trunk of the tree, shaking. She hated heights.

Apprehensive, Mio climbed down the tree, taking care to remain inconspicuous and avoid any windows of her house she may have passed on her way down.

Once she had her feet on the ground, Mio gave her house one more glance, and ran off to meet Ibiki.

--

"Ah, Mio, there you are," Ibiki said.

"Hi, Ibiki," Mio greeted her brother's friend. He was wearing his usual long trench coat, and bandana that covered his whole head. Mio smiled up at him and tried her best not to show she was hiding the fact that she had just snuck out of her house.

"So, this is where the first stage of the Chuunin Exams are," Ibiki said, gesturing to the Ninja Academy behind them. "Everyone's waiting on the third floor."

"Waiting for what?" Mio asked.

"For us to start, of course," Ibiki laughed. "Come, we've still got a while until we begin, you can mingle with some of the ninja there, and then I'll come get you after."

"Where will you be?" Mio asked.

"Ah, don't worry, you'll be able to find me," Ibiki assured her. He led her into the building and up two flights of stairs. As they walked down a hallway on the second floor, Mio saw a large group of kids in another corridor, crowded around a door that two older teenagers were guarding. One of them pushed a kid in a green body suit down as he tried to get by. His team mate ran to help him.

"Ibiki-sama," Mio whispered. "Those kids are trying to get by, and those teenagers aren't letting them. Shouldn't we go put a stop to that?" Ibiki chuckled at Mio's naïveté.

"Those 'teenagers' are _supposed_ to not let them through, Mio," he explained. "Those genin are looking for the third floor and they have to realize this is the second. If any of them can see through it, we cast a gen-jutsu on that sign up there-" he pointed to the small white sign near the door everyone was trying to go through. "-and made it _seem_ like this was the third floor. If any of these kids were paying attention, they'd realize this isn't the floor their supposed to be on… Read the message within the hidden message…" Mio heeded Ibiki's every word as she followed him away from the gang of genin, praying that for their sake they would see through the illusion eventually.

Mio continued to follow her brother's friend up one more flight of stairs, and down a long hallway. There was a door at the end of it.

"Everyone's waiting in there," he said. "You can go wait with them; I have some business to attend to before we begin the exams. If anyone gives you any trouble, just give a shout, alright?"

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Mio asked, a little worried now.

"Well, the Chuunin Exams are opened to ninja from every nation," Ibiki said. "And some of them aren't the nicest. But won't worry, you probably won't get on anyone's bad side." With that, he shoved Mio through the door and quickly closed it.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Mio stared blankly at the countless pairs of eyes that tested and studied her. After a couple of seconds, everyone realized she wasn't a ninja and wasn't a threat, so they all went back to their own matters. Mio meekly made her way through the ninja, taking care not to get in anyone's way, remembering Ibiki's warning. She soon found out the elite Jonin wasn't kidding about there being all sorts of ominous looking ninja from different nations. Many rather frightened her.

While weaving in and out through the shinobi, Mio passed a trio of creepy Rain ninja in huge dark cloaks, some Waterfall ninja that towered over her head, and three Sand genin, the youngest of the group looking calm, serious, and sinister.

_Geez, I feel kinda bad for the normal ninja that have to compete against these creeps, _Mio thought as she brushed by a threatening Mist ninja missing an eye. Mio continued to wander, passing by a group of normal, calm Leaf ninja, when suddenly, she bumped into someone. She looked up.

"Hey, what does you want?" Standing before her was a huge, burly Grass ninja. He had messy, mouse brown hair that hung in his face a bit, a huge, upturned nose, and big lips curved downwards in a frown. He wore a gray coat over a black shirt and had blue-grey pants and blue zori on his bottom half. Mio could tell this guy was trouble.

"Uh- um-Sorry, s-sir," she stammered. The Grass ninja eyeballed her with his electric blue eyes.

"Hey, you ain't no ninja, what is you doin' here?" he growled. He sounded as if Mio was trespassing on his property.

"I-I- I'm here with a family f-friend… He's-he's a proctor for the Chuunin Exams," Mio started to tremble as the frightening man advanced on her.

"Them exams is for ninja only," he said. Mio stared back into his eyes, scared. She was usually much braver than this, but this weirdo was very fear-provoking.

"But-but-"

"Don't give me no excuses, girly," the shinobi warned. He drew a kunai and held it over Mio's head. "Get your fine behind outta here, or else. This is a place for real ninja, not wanna-be's like you." Mio stared at the glinting blade of the kunai over her head. She could feel people's eyes on her, but that was the least of her concerns. She tried to shout for Ibiki, but her vocal chords were paralyzed along with her legs, so she could not speak or run. She was about to try and force herself to do something, when a voice spoke.

"Leave her alone." Mio turned around. Approaching her was a young man who looked about her age. He was a little taller than her, had his grey hair tied back in a ponytail, letting his bangs fall a little in front of his black eyes that were hiding behind his glasses. He had his Leaf bandana tied around his head like many others. The freaky Grass Nin gave a weird chuckle.

"And who is you to tell me what me can do and do not?"

"Actually, my grammatically challenged friend, I'm not really anyone to tell you what you can and can't do," the man answered, walking up beside Mio. "However, you might not want to make a spectacle of yourself unless you want to draw attention to yourself, and this poor girl here."

"She ain't no ninja," the Grass Nin protested, giving Mio a dirty look. "She ain't allowed no entry in here!"

"But she's with the one of the proctors," Mio's saviour pointed out.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, I suggest you leave her alone unless you want to get in trouble with the proctors." Mio looked at the Grass ninja then at the Leaf one. The Grass shinobi gave a snarl and turned to Mio.

"You was lucky this time, girly," he said. "But mark my words, next time me sees you, your little boyfriend won't be there to save you." With that, he stomped off.

"Don't listen to him," The Leaf ninja told Mio. "I've been attending the Chuunin Exams for seven years, and he's always the one who likes to cause trouble. He'll talk big, but he'll never do anything."

"Wh-who are you?" Mio asked with a shaky voice.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi," the Leaf shinobi said. "And you?"

"Mio Okayama," Mio said.

"And you're here with the proctor?"

"Yeah, I'm here with Ibiki because he's a close family friend, and I wanted to see what the Chuunin Exams were like." Kabuto laughed, quietly.

"Well, as I'm sure you've found out, they can be really tense."

"Quite!" Mio said. "Why is everyone so high-strung? Are they all afraid of failing?" Kabuto shrugged.

"Everyone's nervous for different reasons," he said. He continued to look at Mio, who was still shaking. "But you're one of the most nervous ones I've seen out of all my attempts to pass these tests, and you're not even a ninja," he added.

"I wish I was, though…" she said. "Of course, my mother would probably rather sell me to the gypsies before she let me become a ninja."

"Oh, why is that?" Kabuto asked.

"She thinks women shouldn't become ninja," Mio explained. " 'Proper ladies stay at home and take care of the family while the men work' is her favourite saying. She drives me up the freaking wall sometimes!"

"Not to offend you, Mio," Kabuto said, "but it sound like your mother is a little out dated." Mio laughed.

"That's not offending me, it's actually much better than hearing my dad say, 'Listen to your mother' absent mindedly when those matters come up," Mio assured him. "Actually…" She lowered her voice to a whisper in case anyone was listening. "I'm not really supposed to be here. My mom told me I couldn't go with Ibiki today, so I snuck out." A sly smirk appeared on Kabuto's face.

"And you didn't get caught?" Mio shook her head. "It sounds like you'd make a good kunoichi." Mio smiled. She never had anyone say that to her. She was always met by, 'Don't do this' and 'don't do that' whenever she did something sneaky.

"Thanks…" She decided to return the complement. "I'm sure you'll pass the exams this time." Kabuto smiled.

"Encouraging, aren't you?" he said. Mio smiled wider and shrugged.

"Well, you said this was your seventh time taking the test, so I think you'll do it this time," she said. Kabuto gave her a curt nod.

"Well, thanks," he said. Mio was about to ask him something, but suddenly, a myriad of voices sounded from the front of the room.

"Well, well, all three stooges are here!" exclaimed a boy's voice.

"Man, I knew this was going to be a drag, but I didn't know the Exams were going to be _this_ lame!" sighed another.

"Hey! Get your hands off of him, he's mine!" shrieked a girl's voice.

"Well, well, if it isn't Miss Forehead. I see you still have that frown line on your brow!" shot back a different voice.

"LEAVE MY FORHEAD OUT OF THIS!" Mio furrowed her brow.

"Loud much?" she said. Kabuto sighed.

"I'll go quiet those punks down," Kabuto said. He turned to Mio. "I'll see you around."

"See ya," Mio raised her hand as Kabuto turned on his heel and walked off to go tell the kids up at the front to shut up. Personally, Mio wanted to see who was making the racket and disturbing whatever peace remained in this room, so she followed behind Kabuto, who was a few shinobi ahead of her. When she got up to the front she found the source of all the noise.

There were three shinobi teams made up of kids standing near the door. One team had a blonde and blue-eyed kid in orange with whiskers, a black haired boy, and a girl in pink. Another team was a team made up of a prissy looking blonde girl, a boy with a ponytail, and a chubbier kid with a bag of chips in his hands. The last team had a boy and a dog, a shy looking girl, and a mysterious looking boy. They all seemed to be arguing.

"Hey, you might want to keep it down," Kabuto told the teenaged genin as he approached them. "You've made quite an impression already…" The young ninja looked at all the angry shinobi giving them dirty looks. Mio rolled her eyes.

_They better watch their selves now, _she thought. _They don't want to upset any bad apples like that Grass ninja. _Mio watched as Kabuto talked to the kids and showed them some cards that recorded information on anything and anyone he had. Mio was quite intrigued and watched silently as the black haired boy got some information on his opponents.

After a while, Mio had gotten a little bored and was zoning out until someone's voice brought her back down to Earth. It was that blonde kid with the whiskers.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to beat everyone of you!" he screamed at the other shinobi. Mio raised her eyebrows.

_Well, isn't he preening with self confidence… _she thought, as his companions told him to quiet down. Suddenly, his team mate, the girl, grabbed him from behind.

"Naruto, you idiot!" she shouted, choking him. "Are you trying to get everyone here to hate our guts!? Will you shut up and think of others for once!?" Mio continued to watch the odd scene play out before her. She didn't know the Chuunin Exams would be this eventful. Suddenly, the girl who was choking Naruto addressed their audience.

"Uh- H-hi, everybody," she stammered, trying her best to stay cool. "Um- Don't mind him, he just has these little spaz attacks sometimes- H-he really should be on some sort of medication…" The girl didn't seem to be convincing anyone, for everyone just continued to stare with a stone cold gaze.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past Mio, as she saw a blurred figure dart in front of her. Suddenly, there were three figures up at the front of the room. Mio couldn't see them clearly, but she saw one throw two kunai at Kabuto. Kabuto dodged the attack, but another figure flew up to him and swung his fist at him, but did not punch him. Kabuto dodged again. He seemed alright, but suddenly, the lenses of his glasses shattered. Still, he seemed calm about it.

"Hm… So it was that kind of attack…" he said, taking the frame of his broken glasses off his nose. The figures were finally staying still, and Mio could see them properly now.

The tallest one was a boy with spiky brown hair, and dark eyes. The girl of the group had long black hair with a purple bow in it, and black eyes. The other boy was hunched over, his face covered up by bandages. They only looked about fourteen.

Suddenly, Kabuto fell to his knees, shaking, a shocked look on his face. Suddenly, he was sick. Mio turned her attention back to her new friend, and watched as Naruto and the pink haired girl ran to help him. Mio was confused.

_But he dodged the attack, why is he reacting now? _she wondered. Mio got up off the desk she was sitting on and was going to go help them, but was stopped by the voice of the spiky haired boy.

"That'll teach you to insult the Sound Village, punk," he snarled as Kabuto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Mio was about to scold the boy for being disrespectful to someone older than him, but was stopped by a huge puff of smoke that appeared out of no where at the front of the room.

"Alright, you baby faced degenerates, pipe down and listen up!" yelled Ibiki's voice, harshly. "It's time to begin. I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor, and from this moment, your worst enemy."

Mio finally got her legs moving and ran up to Ibiki and stood beside him. After he ordered the genin to follow him into the exam room, he turned to Mio, and said, "So, was everything alright?"

"Yeah, it was," Mio said, following Ibiki. "Actually, this guy from the Grass Village threatened me, but someone told him to lay off."

"Oh yeah? Who?" Ibiki asked.

"A guy called Kabuto Yakushi."

"Interesting…" Ibiki spotted the exam room up ahead and turned back to Mio. "Listen, the genin are going to have to write a test for an hour, are you sure you won't be bored?"

"Ah, I'll be fine," Mio promised. "I'll just keep an eye out for cheaters." Ibiki laughed.

"Well, we already have many Chuunin doing that, but it doesn't hurt to have one more," he said. The large group made their way into the classroom and sat down in their assigned seats. Mio sat in a chair up at the front next to a few other Chuunin with clipboards and pens in their hands.

"Now listen up," Ibiki barked at the genin. "You get one hour to answer all nine questions on that paper, and I'll give out the tenth question at the end. If anyone gets caught cheating, you'll have two points deducted from your score. Get caught five times, and you fail instantly. Mark my words, these Chuunin have eyes like hawks." A murmur swept through the crowd. Many were concerned.

"You're time begins… Now." With that, everyone started on their tests.

Mio scanned the crowd, observing everyone's progress. She saw some people were very concentrated, some were very calm, and some were very anxious. As time ticked away, Mio heard the occasional tap of pencil against the clipboard while the Chuunin around her took note of who was cheating.

At one point, one of the Chuunin threw a kunai that nearly hit someone in the head at the wall.

"Ninja one forty-six, failed," Ibiki said, immediately. A nervous looking ninja stood up.

"But-but- I-I-"

"You and your team may leave the test area immediately," Ibiki instructed.

"Ninja one forty-six, failed. Ninja one forty-seven, failed. Ninja one forty-eight, failed…" called the Chuunin next to Mio as the failed ninja left the classroom with scowls on their face.

The time dragged on as Mio continued to watch the ninja write their tests. More and more people got caught and failed. Mio could tell the pressure was finally getting to these shinobi. As the hour came to an end, at least half the genin were gone now. Surprisingly, though, Mio saw that the twelve loud kids were still there. She also saw Kabuto at the back. They caught each others eyes a couple of times. Kabuto would always nod, and Mio would always say, 'hi' with a small wave. Finally, once time was up, Ibiki spoke.

"Now, I'll give out the tenth question," he said. "But I should warn you: If you get this tenth question wrong, you will never be able to take the Chuunin Exams again, disabling you to ever become an intermediate ninja." Mio felt a panicked vibe come from the remaining genin. She looked at Ibiki. Wasn't that a little too harsh?

"Or, if you choose not to take the chance, you can quit now," Ibiki offered. There was a pause until someone stood up.

"Argh! I can't do it! I quit!" he cried, his eyes wide. Ibiki nodded.

"Alright then," he said. "Ninja thirty-nine, failed. Ninja forty, failed. Ninja forty-one, failed." The man who had just quit turned to his stone faced team mates.

"I-I'm sorry, guys… I'm sorry," he apologized, following them. Mio finally understood what was going on: If one person failed, then the whole team did.

_Wow, that's really tough… _she thought, watching the new failures leave the room.

"Anyone else?" Ibiki asked. Many more people raised their hands and left.

There was silence in the room after all the failed genin left. Mio saw someone raise their hand. It was Naruto Uzumaki, the over-confident kid.

_No way… _Mio thought. _Is he really going to give up? He was so sure of himself before… _She continued watched Naruto's shaking hand. Suddenly, he slammed it down on the desk and stood up.

"There's no way I'm quitting now! You can act tough all you want, you don't scare me!" he yelled at Ibiki.

"Are you sure?" Ibiki asked, smugly. "If you get this question wrong, you'll never be able to become a Chuunin."

"I don't care!" Naruto yelled, fiercely. "I don't care if I'll be stuck as a genin for the rest of my life, I'll still find a way to become Hokage! I don't go back on my word, that's the way of the ninja! So bring on the next question!"

"Alright then, if you insist…" Ibiki smirked. Everyone held their breaths. Even Mio, who was praying it wouldn't be too hard for the Genin. Suddenly, Ibiki spoke.

"You all pass!" he said. There was a shocked gasp that rose from the remaining ninja. Mio's jaw dropped. Was he serious?

"What the-?" someone cried out. "Where's the tenth question?!"

"Actually, that _was_ the tenth question," Ibiki chuckled. "The tenth 'question' was basically temptation: If some selfish fool would leave the test, not thinking about their other team mates, but only of their own personal glory and safety, then they failed. Being a ninja is all about team work."

"So are you telling us that those other questions were just a waste of time!?" yelled that blonde girl from the Sand Village Mio saw before.

"On the contrary, it wasn't," Ibiki explained. "As I'm sure many of you noticed, those questioned were too hard for any genin to answer, so you _needed _to cheat. The test almost demanded it. The trick was to not get caught, though."

_Oh my God… That's pure genius! _Mio thought, astounded.

"But of course," Ibiki said. "What's the point of cheating when there's no one to cheat off of?" He smiled. "We put two Chuunin disguised as Genin who already new the answers to cheat off of among you." Two men raised their hands in greeting at the shocked Genin staring at them.

Ibiki went onto to tell the passed Genin that the tenth question was a lot like a mission Chuunin had to face: You either whimp out and don't do the mission, or you don't think about the danger you may face and think only of your goal. Mio was hanging off Ibiki's every word, as if she were a test-taker hoping to become a Chuunin herself.

"Now then…" Ibiki started, but suddenly, something crashed through the window, shattering the glass. Mio let out a yell and covered her head. She saw someone throw two kunai attached to what looked like a large maroon bed sheet into the ceiling.

"I-is this part of the test?" Mio heard Naruto ask. Curious, she got up off her chair, and ran to the front to see what was happening.

"Listen up, boys and girls, this no time to be celebrating!" yelled a female voice. There was a woman standing there with purple hair, and light coloured eyes wearing a long tan trench coat over a metal mesh body suit. Behind the woman on the maroon bed sheet were the words: YOUR SECOND TEST PROCTOR: ANKO MITARASHI painted in white paint on it. Mio raised her eyebrows.

_I see she likes to make an entry… _she thought.

"So, you all passed? Well, you can't relax yet! Alright, LET'S GO!"

Silence.

"You're early… again," Ibiki told Anko, peeking from behind the fabric. Anko got an embarrassed look on her face, but quickly redeemed herself.

"Whoa, Ibiki, how many are left? Seventy-ish?… I think you're getting too soft," she said.

"Either that, or we just have a stronger crop of candidates this year," Ibiki suggested. Anko gave the Genin a snide look.

"Well, when I'm through with them, not even half will be left," she said, giving a 'bring-it-on' smile. She suddenly turned her attention to Mio.

"Hey, you maggot, what are you doing out of your seat!?" she barked at her. "We didn't give you permission to leave yet, get back there!"

"Anko, she's not taking the test," Ibiki said. "She's not even a ninja, she's just watching."

"Just watching? Civilians can't watch this part the Chuunin exams!" Anko spat.

"Where does it say that?" asked Ibiki. Anko was silent for a minute. She ignored the question and turned back to the candidates.

"Alright, you little maggots have had it easy, but now it just gets tougher! I'll tell your squad leaders when and where to meet tomorrow morning. Dismissed." With that, the ninja left the room, relieved, and some what confused. Mio remained behind with the two test proctors.

"Well, Mio," said Ibiki after the shinobi were gone. "How did you like watching the first part of the Chuunin Exams?"

"It looks so interesting…" Mio sighed. "I wish I was a ninja…"

"Well, you had your chance to apply to the Academy when you were little," Anko commented. "It's your loss."

"Actually, I _did_ want to go to the Academy," Mio explained, some what hurt by what Anko said. "But my mother wouldn't let me. She thinks women shouldn't be ninja."

"Women shouldn't be ninja!?" Anko repeated, scandalized. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Chicky, back up: Your mom didn't let you pursue you dreams because you're a _girl?!_" Mio nodded. Anko raised her eyebrows.

"I'll tell you right now, Mio, that's a load of garbage: Men would never survive without kunoichi around!" Anko stopped for a minute, as if thinking. "How about you swing by the Forest of Death tomorrow? Then you could watch the second part of the Exam, hm?"

"Forest of Death?" Mio asked. "What's that?"

"It's where the second section of the Chuunin exams are taking place," Anko said. "Everyone's meeting there at six o' clock. Do you think you're able to come?" Mio wasn't sure. She could come, but if she was caught sneaking out, she'd be in big trouble. And if her mother found out she had snuck out today, she would be in even bigger trouble. But, Mio made a decision that best suited her dreams.

"Yes," she said. "I will be able to come."

"Perfect," Anko smiled. "I'll see you there, Mio." With that, she walked out of the room.

"Are you sure your parents will let you go, Mio?" Ibiki asked. Mio waved his words away.

"Ah, it's fine, they won't even be home tomorrow," she said. That was a big fat lie, but if she told Ibiki that she was sneaking out a second time, she was risking Ibiki telling her brother, who would most likely tell Amaya.

"Okay, if you say so," Ibiki shrugged. "Goodbye, Mio."

"Later," Mio waved to the Jonin and set off down the hallway, watching her feet take each step. She was nervous. What if someone discovered she was gone? What if her mother panicked and started a search party for her daughter? What if-? Suddenly, Mio bumped into someone. She looked up. A pair of coal black eyes stared back at her.

"Kabuto?"

"Hai?" he smiled. Mio smiled too.

"Congrats on passing," she said. "I was watching the whole time; I could tell it was really hard." Kabuto shrugged.

"I was kind of expecting it," he said. "I am veteran, anyways."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Mio nodded. "You're an expert on the Chuunin Exams already."

"You're too kind, Mio," Kabuto said. "But watch who you admire."

"So, what's wrong with-?" Mio began.

"It's a basic rule when it comes to being a ninja," Kabuto explained. "You've always got to be wary." He smiled at the look on Mio's face. "Don't worry, you can trust me, I'm just giving you a pointer."

"Even though I'm not a real ninja?" Mio asked.

"Sure, why not?" Kabuto said. "Just because you're not a real kunoichi doesn't mean I can't give you a tip." Mio smiled.

"It's nice hearing that from an actual ninja," she said. "My mom would always say something like, 'You're a lady, Mio: Ladies do not become ninja' or 'Those women who call their selves ninja, aren't real women' whenever I'd mention being a kunoichi around her."

"You poor girl," Kabuto said, giving Mio a pitying look. "My childhood wasn't the greatest either…"

"Really?" Mio asked.

"I was orphaned…" Kabuto told her. "I was brought up by the chief medical officer of the Konaha Medical Unit."

"I can't imagine what it must be like to be an orphan…" Mio sighed. "It seems every shinobi has some tragic past, considering the stories my brother has told me…"

"You're brother's a ninja?" Kabuto asked.

"Yeah, almost all the men in my family are," Mio said. "But all the women and girls aren't." Mio checked her watch. "Oh no… Speaking of, I've got to get going. If my mom find out I snuck out, I'm dead meat."

"Good luck," Kabuto said.

"Thanks," Mio replied. "It was nice meeting you today."

"You too." Mio waved to her new friend and walked off in a hurried pace, desperate to get back home before anyone found out she was gone.

--

**And, there's chapter two. It was longer than I thought it would be 0.o lol. Tell me what you think. Thanks**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Try as she might, Mio could not climb back up the tree outside her bedroom window. Which meant she had to get into the house through the front door. Taking a deep breath, Mio quietly opened the door, and tiptoed in. No one was around. She took off her shoes and placed them on the tray near the closet.

"Where in the name of Amaterasu have you been!?" yelled an angry voice. Jumping three feet in the air, Mio spun around to see Amaya standing there, her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. Her mother's eyes burned a hole through Mio's face.

"Mom… I-"

"You snuck out," Amaya said. It wasn't a question. Knowing she was cornered, Mio nodded. Amaya threw her hands up in the air.

"I can't believe this," she said. "Mio, are you that desperate to be recognized as disgrace?"

"Why do you call kunoichi disgraces, Mother?" Mio questioned, her voice shaking with rage. "Why…? I'll have you know kunoichi are among the most respected women in the Leaf Village!"

"You are forgetting about our family, Mio Okayama!?" Amaya shouted at her daughter. "Forget what Konaha thinks; In our family, kunoichi are spat on, and I will not have my own daughter trying to be worthless dirt under our feet!"

"Mom, what would _you_ know about kunoichi?" Mio yelled at her mother. "Just because you've never had a thrill in your life doesn't mean I can't! Will you please just let me grow up and make my own decisions for once!? God, it feels like I'm nine most of the times instead of nineteen!"

There was an appalling silence. Mio glared furiously at Amaya. Never had she been so angry at her. Suddenly, Amaya brushed a bang out of her face casually, cleared her throat, and spoke to her daughter in a trembling voice.

"Go to your room…"

"I'm not-"

"GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW, MIO OKAYAMA, OR SO HELP ME, YOU WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME!" Amaya exploded. Mio gave her mother a dirty look, stomped upstairs, and slammed the door with extreme force. She kicked the foot of her bed, ignoring the throbbing pain in her toe she felt afterwards, and sat down on the bed.

Fight, fight, fight. That's how she and her mother communicated lately, and Mio was sick of it. She knew she was right. Mio was almost always right when it came to ninja. But her stubborn mother wouldn't hear any of it.

"This sucks…" Mio mumbled. She stayed up in her room until dinner time.

--

Dinner had never been so quiet. Mio refused to look at either Amaya or her father, Hatsuharu. Whenever Hatsuharu asked why everyone was so grim and quiet, Amaya would just grunt and continue eating.

After supper, Mio resumed locking herself up in her room. Once safe, she pulled a small backpack out of her closet. She packed a small packaged snack and a bottle of water she stole from the downstairs refrigerator in it.

She didn't give a care about what her mother said anymore. She was sneaking out again. If she got caught, she would face the consequences. Simple as that.

After packing her refreshments, Mio set her alarm to five o' clock, got dressed in her pyjamas, turned off her light and went to sleep. She had to get some rest.

--

Beep! Beep! Beep!Mio was startled out of her deep sleep. She quickly hit the 'off' button on her alarm clock, her heart hammering against her chest. She remained silent and still for a moment, listening for any signs that her family was awake.

Nothing. Everyone was still asleep.

Yawning, Mio dragged herself out of bed, and picked out her clothes for today. She needed something practical to wear. She decided on casual blue jeans and zori, a lavender t-shirt and a purple sweater over it.

Mio slung her backpack over her shoulder after she quickly brushed her medium length brown hair and tied it back. She was about to go open her window and climb down the tree, but as she crossed her bureau, she took notice of a blue head band on it. It was the exact same shade as the shinobi headbands Mio saw so many people wearing these days. She picked it up and tied it around her head, and glanced at her reflection in the mirror that hung on her wall. Her bandana didn't have a steel plate on it, but it definitely made her feel like a kunoichi.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mio opened her window, stepped out onto the branch and climbed down the tree. She felt very sneaky and adventurous.

_See you, Mother, dear, I'm going to spend time with people I actually like! _she thought as she made her way onto the side walk and set off to the training grounds.

The only reason Mio knew where the training grounds were was because of her brother, Daichi. He said many ninja went their to practise their nin-jutsu.

_"What's nin-justu?" _Mio would ask.

_"It's ninja art," _Daichi would reply. _"A chakra based attack."_

_"I wish I could do ninjutsu!" _Mio pouted.

_"But you can, Mio," _Daichi would assure her. _"Your body already has chakra in it, it's all a matter of moulding it." _Mio smiled at the memory. When Daichi had told her that, she felt very special, knowing she had something essential to ninja in her body… If only she had learned how to use it.

Mio suddenly saw the training ground up ahead. She ran towards the opened field, but stopped upon realizing she had no idea where the Forest of Death was. She ran across the field and into Konaha's woods, searching for her destination.

It was early in the morning and the sun was still rising, making it a little dark in the woods. Mio began to get a little worried. Suddenly, she as she was running, Mio's foot hit a log, and she went flying.

She must have been suspended in mid air for at least thirty seconds, always moving forward before she hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from her lungs. She coughed and spat leaves out of her mouth. Suddenly, a familiar, loud female voice spoke.

"Hey there, Mio! What are you doing here so early?" Mio pulled a blade of grass from her hair and looked up.

Standing there was Anko and behind her, a huge fenced in forest. On the gates of the fence were signs that read: THE FOREST OF DEATH. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. Mio raised her eyebrows and turned her attention back to Anko, who was offering her a hand. Mio grasped it and got pulled up.

"H-hi, Anko-sama," she said, weakly, still trying to get the air back in her.

"That was a nasty fall," Anko said. "Are you okay?" Mio nodded. "You're quite early… The candidates are only supposed to arrive at six."

"Well…" Mio hesitated. Could she trust this woman not to tell her family she snuck out a second time after getting caught? She decided not to risk it, and made up a white lie. "I was really excited, and I just wanted to check out the training grounds early before anyone else got here."

"Well, here it is, the Forest of Death," Anko said, gesturing to the huge fenced in forest behind her.

"What are the Genin supposed to do in there?" Mio asked, her eyes feasting on the spectacular forest before her.

"Well, it's quite simple, actually," Anko explained. "They're all given one scroll each. Either an Earth or Heaven scroll. They have to make it to a tower in the middle of the forest with both scrolls in five days, or they get eliminated from the Chuunin Exams."

"Two scrolls? But they're only given one," Mio pointed out, confused.

"Ah, there's the catch," said Anko, a sly grin appearing on her face. "The Genin have to steal their missing scroll off of each other; Even if it means one has to get killed… From their opponent's team, of course…"

"Oh, that sounds awfully hard," Mio said.

"The Chuunin Exams aren't supposed to be easy," Anko said. Mio shrugged. She had a point. The second stage seemed to animate the game of survival: Only the strongest go all the way through, while the others are left to die.

Harsh? Maybe. But when you were a ninja, you had to be tough- Another rule taught to Mio by Daichi.

Mio and Anko waited around, talking about this and that until some ninja started to arrive. As the sun rose, so did the number of shinobi waiting to take on the second stage of the Exams.

At around ten to six, everyone seemed to be there, and many looked rather worried at the sight of the monstrous fenced in forest. Mio wandered about, observing everyone's current mood and condition. She spotted that menacing Grass ninja from yesterday a couple of feet from her, and decided not to get in his way.

Then she spotted a familiar face she knew and liked, a little way away from the Grass shinobi. Standing with two other men with their faces covered by masks, was Kabuto. Mio smiled and ran to meet him.

"Hi, Kabuto," she said, pleasantly. Kabuto turned and smiled.

"Well, well, if it isn't non-kunoichi friend," he said. "I didn't expect to see you at the second part of the Exams."

"Anko said she could take me," Mio told him.

"Heh, heh. Not a kunoichi, eh?" asked the man with sun glasses, one of Kabuto's team mates. "Then what are you doing here?"

"The proctor said she'd take me," Mio repeated, shortly. She was tired of people asking why she, a mere civilian, was among elite shinobi.

"Hm… Do I sense a bit of favourite-ism between you and the proctor?" asked the other man. Mio could tell he was smirking from beneath his mask.

"Oh, give her a break, Misumi," Kabuto said, defensively. Mio smiled at him, appreciating him stick up for her. The Leaf ninja sighed and turned back to Mio.

"These are my two team mates, Misumi Tsurugi and Yoroi Akado," he introduced the other men with some annoyance. Mio raised her hand in greeting, and Misumi and Yoroi only nodded coolly in response.

"I heard about what you're supposed to do to pass this test," Mio said. "Do you think you can do it?"

"I'm sure we can," Kabuto said, confidently. "As they say: 'Seventh time's a charm." Mio laughed quietly at the metaphor.

"So, how did it go yesterday? Did you parents find out?" asked Kabuto. Mio got an angry look on her face.

"My mom found out! She blew her top!" she told him. "I got sent to my room like a child after I told her to let me grow up."

"Oh, that means you've snuck out again, hm?" Mio giggled.

"Yup. I don't care if I get in trouble again. My mom can yell and scream at me all she wants when I get home, but I'll just brush it off."

"Well, aren't you a bold one," Kabuto said, smirking. Mio returned his smile and shrugged.

"I'm nineteen, and I haven't even begun to live yet," she said.

"Kabuto, Misumi and I are going to walk around, since you're catching up with your girlfriend," Yoroi called to his team mate tauntingly.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Mio yelled at him, trying to return a favour to Kabuto, but his hand on her shoulder made her stop.

"Forget about Yoroi," Kabuto said. "He calls every female I talk to my girlfriend, but it's just because he's jealous he never had one of his own." Mio laughed aloud.

"You're terrible," she snickered, giving Kabuto a light tap on the shoulder. He looked up to the sky and gave an unsure look.

"We should be starting soon… What are you going to do after we've gone into the forest?"

"Well… I-I really don't know," Mio said. "I guess I'll go with Anko to wherever-" Mio was interrupted by Anko's loud voice.

"Welcome to the Forest of Death…" she said. She went on to explain what they had to do to pass this test, and what they were expected to face in the woods. It sounded very dangerous. Not only would the shinobi have to battle each other, but the natural elements too.

Anko was in the middle of her speech, when there was a pause. No one at the back knew what was going on, but Mio soon heard the proctor's voice yell out, "Wait! We're taking a ten minute break! There are some kids here for a paper interview!" Mio was some what relieved the test candidates didn't have to go into the forest right away. She turned back to Kabuto and continued talking with him.

"Have you been in the Forest of Death before?" she asked.

"I have, but not for very long," Kabuto answered. "Misumi got us disqualified last time."

"Oh, that's not good. What happened?" asked an interested Mio.

"I can't remember exactly… I know for one thing it was pretty bad and it got us booted out of there pretty quickly," Kabuto said.

"I know you'll be able to pass it this time," Mio said, confident.

"What are you, a fortune teller?" Kabuto asked.

"Hey, it's like you said, 'Seventh time's a charm'. Who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky and be one of the first ones at the tower?" Mio suggested.

"Do you believe in luck?"

"Why? Do you think you will be lucky this time?"

"When did luck become skill?" Mio stared at him.

"Touché…" she mumbled. Kabuto laughed.

"I'll tell you one thing, Mio," he said. "I do have a good feeling about this exams, considering it's difficulties…"

"And so I've heard…" Mio said, giving the Forest of Death an apprehensive look.

"So, upon hearing about how hard these things are, would you still want to become a ninja?" Kabuto asked.

"Hell, yes!" Mio cried. "I'd give my right arm to become a kunoichi!"

"You wouldn't be as able if you did that, Mio," Kabuto smirked. Mio rolled her eyes with good humour.

"I'm just saying…" she said.

"I know, I know," Kabuto laughed, waving Mio's words away. The two continued to talk until Anko's sharp voice interrupted them.

"Alright, you maggots! Get to your designated starting gates and don't even think of entering the forest before I say so!"

"Hey, Kabuto, let's go!" Yoroi called, approaching Kabuto and Mio. He held up a scroll that read 'heaven' on it. "Say goodbye to your girlfriend and hurry up!"

"Say it again, Yoroi, I dare you!" Mio shouted at the man, glaring at him.

"Calm down, Mio," Kabuto said. Mio turned to him and smiled nervously, a thin line of blush appearing on her cheeks.

"S-sorry."

"Don't apologize, ninja don't often apologize," Kabuto instructed. "Anyway, I have to get going now. Hopefully I'll see you after the test."

"I hope…" Mio said, trying to be optimistic. She waved as Kabuto began to follow Misumi and Yoroi to their starting gate. Suddenly, a thought hit the nineteen year old.

"Kabuto, wait!" she called, running after her friend.

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Misumi said exasperated. "Listen, chick, you're not a ninja, so go back with whoever you were with before and stay out of our way!"

"Misumi, Yoroi, I'll meet you at the gates," Kabuto said.

"But the it's going to start-"

"We've got time, just go wait for me and I'll catch up!" Rolling their eyes, Misumi and Yoroi hurried off.

"What is it, Mio?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stall you guys," Mio stammered. "But… It's just… All of these dangers that are in the forest… W-will you be okay? Promise me you won't… D-die…" Mio was honestly worried about Kabuto. He had been so nice to her, and had defended her many times. After hearing Anko talk about all the dangerous wild animals and ninja in the woods, she'd be awfully sad if something happened to her new friend.

"Mio," Kabuto put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes, unblinking. "I promise you I will be alright. Don't worry your pretty little head. Just sit tight and within the next five days it will all be over."

"Okay then…" Mio said, a little more comfortable after Kabuto promised her.

"Good. Now run along back to the proctor, and I'll hopefully see you after the five days are up."

"Alright, good bye," Mio said. "Be safe."

"I will." With that, Kabuto left. Mio stood on her own for a minute, gazing after him, contemplating. Suddenly, she heard Anko's voice yell out again.

"And… GO!" Within a blink of an eye, every ninja disappeared from view. Mio was left standing alone, staring at the forest with a half mellow half concerned look on her face. Anko approached her.

"Well, I've got to go and monitor the tower, are you coming along?" she asked. Mio sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry Anko, I don't think so. I've got to get going," she explained.

"Alright, well, if you want, you can come see the third part of the Chuunin Exams. There in about a month."

"A month!?" Mio cried.

"Well, we have to let the candidates rest up and train," Anko said. "It may seem pretty far off, but it's closer than you think. You don't have to come with any of the proctors because civilians are aloud to watch this part."

"Okay, well, I'll see if I can when the time comes," Mio promised. "But now I have to go. See you later, Anko."

"Bye, Mio."


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi, everyone. Thanks for reading this far. One note though: In one part of this chapter, I borrowed a part from another book and put it in here (to be more specific, it was The Princess Bride), so I just wanted to say I don't own either Naruto or The Princess Bride. Okay, now here's the chappy:**

**--**

Chapter Four

This was it. Mio was going to do it. There was no way she was going through the front door again. She reached up and grabbed a tree limb, and raised her foot up onto a small branch and hauled herself up.

"Okay, Mio-chan," Mio told herself. "Now just do what you did before." Mio continued to climb the tree, refusing to look down. By the time she got up to the branch that led up to her bedroom window, she was shaking with fear. She inched herself towards the window, slowly but surely.

_Be stealthy and careful, _Mio told herself as she continued to reach for her window sill. _Like a cat… Or more appropriately, like a ninja. _Mio finally got close enough to push her window open. With a leap of faith, Mio jumped from the branch, through the window, and into her room. She landed on her bed.

"Wahoo! Just like a real ninja!" she cried triumphantly. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Mio? Mio-chan?" Mio ran and opened the door. Her mother was standing there in her night dress with curlers in her hair.

"Oh- H-hi, Mom," Mio said, smiling nervously. Had she been caught again?

"What are you doing in here?" asked Amaya. "You woke me up."

"Oh, sorry," Mio said. "I-I was just-"

"Hey, if you're up already, would you mind doing me a favour?" Amaya interrupted. "Could you run down to the corner store and get some bread? We're out already."

"O-okay…" Mio blinked.

"Thanks, Mio-chan." Amaya walked away. Mio stared off after her. She hadn't been caught? She looked at her digital clock on her bureau. It read seven fifteen. Sighing with relief, Mio walked downstairs, and left the house to go run the errand.

--

Mio lay in her bed, staring up at her dark ceiling. She glanced out her window. It was a full moon tonight. Sighing, Mio turned on her side, staring at the digital clock on her desk. It was nine thirty at night.

It wasn't a very eventful day today. After coming home with a loaf of bread in her arms, Mio was up in her room all day reading and reflecting. Still, she got up early and was really tired.

But she couldn't sleep. Mio's mind kept wandering back to the Forest of Death.

What was happening there now? Had someone been killed yet? By wild beasts? By the competition? And what of those loud kids at the registration? They looked only about twelve; how were they holding up? And what about Mio's friend?

__

I need to get some sleep…

she decided. Mio heaved one more sigh, and closed her eyes.

And Kabuto was in the forest.

Mio got up from her bed. She made her way to the bathroom next to her room and washed her face. She went back into her own room, got into bed, snuggled between her covers and closed her eyes.

Kabuto was still in the forest!

Mio threw back her sheets, got up, and opened her door. She went downstairs into the kitchen, approached the sink, and poured herself a glass of cold water. She drank it down. She refilled it again and rolled the cup's coolness against her forehead. The feverish feeling was still there.

How feverish? She felt fine. She was nineteen, and didn't even have a cavity. She dumped the water firmly in the sink, marched back up to her room, shut the door tight, and got back into bed. She closed her eyes.

Kabuto was still in that stupid forest!

_Why? _Why was she so worried about him? He had told her not to worry, so why was she now? Mio rolled around in her bed. She told herself that Kabuto was a ninja and a grown man, and that he could take care of himself. Still, Mio couldn't help but to think of what could happen in the forest.

It wasn't called the Forest of Death for nothing, right? There were probably many dead already. Mio overhead two shinobi saying only thirteen teams were going to pass. What would happen to the others? A better question was what was happening with Kabuto now?

_What if he's dead?… _Mio thought, scared. Wouldn't that be a waste. Her only shinobi friend gone. Ibiki wasn't really a friend, more of just a contact, and Mio had only met Anko yesterday… But she had also only met Kabuto yesterday too… Mio was deeply confused.

Still, she continued to wonder if Kabuto had kicked the bucket yet. She prayed he hadn't. She tried her best to forget about him, but she couldn't. He smirked at her from beneath her eyelids as his onyx eyes bore into her own green ones. She heard his laugh in her ears although there was no one else in her room but her.

And what if all that was gone? Poof? Kaput? No longer in existence?

Flailing and trashing, Mio had worked herself up so much she began to weep. She tossed, and paced, and wept some more. It was around one o'clock when she finally fell asleep.

--

A rapping on her door startled Mio out of a deep sleep. She let out a groan and lifted up her weary head. Her sheets were all tangled around her person and her mattress cover was half on half off the mattress. Mio looked up at her door, struggling to keep her eyes opened, for her eyelids felt like lead.

"Mio-chan? Are you up yet?" Amaya opened the door and stepped into her daughter's room.

"I can't believe you're still asleep. It's ten o' clock!" Amaya studied Mio's face. "Goodness, Mio, what happened to your eyes!?"

"My… My eyes?" Mio mumbled.

"Yes, they're all bloodshot; it looks as if you've been crying!" Mio slowly turned her head and looked at her reflection in the mirror on her wall. She almost didn't recognize the person staring back at her.

The nineteen year old in the mirror had tangled, matted hair, bloodshot eyes with dark circles under them, and an ashen face.

_What a rough night, _Mio thought, remembering her fight against her thoughts.

"I-I had a hard time falling asleep last night," Mio muttered, raising herself up on her elbows. Amaya continued to study her daughter.

"Why are your eyes like that? Were you crying before I came in? Or last night?" she asked.

"No," Mio lied.

"Then they must just be dry," Amaya concluded. "Come with me. We'll put some eye drops on those eyes." Mio dragged herself out of bed and followed her mother to the bathroom.

Once inside, Amaya opened the medicine cabinet and took out a small bottle.

"Look up, Mio," she instructed. Mio did as she was told. Her mother dropped two drops in each eye. Mio blinked, trying to keep the liquid from overflowing.

"Now brush your hair, teeth, and get dressed," Amaya told Mio. "And come downstairs for breakfast." Mio nodded, turned on her heel and walked back to her room.

While getting dressed and making her bed, she wondered what was happening in the Forest of Death now. More importantly, she wondered how Kabuto was doing. She tried not to think about the horrible possibilities that the forest had to offer to him and went to brush her hair and teeth.

Mio dragged herself downstairs and sat down at the table. She remained silent and didn't say good morning to her father who was buried in his newspaper. Amaya placed a plate of toast in front of Mio. Grimacing, she pushed her plate away.

"I…I'm not very hungry this morning," was her excuse.

"Mio, you look terrible this morning," Amaya said. "Are you feeling sick?" Mio shook her head. She wasn't literally sick, but she was sick with worry.

"Well, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Amaya pressed on. Mio sighed.

"One of my friends is somewhere that's not too safe," she half lied. "The place he is right now could kill him, and I'm just very worried."

"Which friend?" asked Hatsuharu, looking up over his paper. "And where is he?"

"I met him a couple of days ago," Mio said, uneasily. "And.. I-I forget where he said he was going, but he said it was pretty dangerous."

"_He_?" Amaya asked. "Since when do you make friends with boys?"

"I have friends who are boys!" Mio said, indignantly. "You know Akio, right?"

"I wouldn't really call him a boy," Hatsuharu mumbled into his paper.

"Hatsuharu!" Amaya scolded her husband. She turned back to Mio. "Well, is it Akio you're worried about?"

"Yes," Mio said, immediately. Amaya sighed.

"And you've lost sleep over him, hm?" Mio nodded sheepishly.

"How long did Akio say he'd be gone for?"

"Five days," Mio said, passively.

"Well, don't despair, Mio-chan," Amaya said. "Akio will return safe and unharmed, I'm sure of it. In the mean time, he wouldn't want to see you like this, right?"

"No… No, he wouldn't," Mio said, a light dawning on her.

"So, you should get a good night's sleep tonight, and get yourself looking presentable for him when he comes back." Mio was a little confused. She assumed her parents forgot she mentioned she met her 'friend' a couple of days ago, meanwhile she had known Akio for about a year and a half, but she didn't say anything and just went along with it. Her mom did have a point anyways. Kabuto wouldn't want to see her like this.

"On a happier note," Amaya continued. "We're going to go to a little get together on Friday."

"At whose house?" Mio asked.

"The Takahashis," answered Amaya. "But it's formal, so Mio, we're going to go buy you a dress today." Mio groaned. She didn't really like wearing dresses and skirts. They restricted her movement and often needed to wear heels with them, and she could not walk in heels to save her life.

"Oh, don't be like that," Amaya told Mio. "You look very pretty in dresses."

"Yeah, but I don't like them," Mio said.

"Well, deal with it, Mio. What would you rather do? Dress up in one of you father's suits?"

"It's better than a dress," Mio said, moodily.

" Nonsense!" Amaya said. "Women should dress appropriately when going out, and that means you too, Mio."

"Mom, that's-"

"Don't you dare label me as sexist again, Mio, because I've told you before it's just proper," Amaya warned, dangerously. Mio turned to her father for some help.

"Dad-"

"Listen to your mother," Hatsuharu said, not looking up from his paper. Mio rolled her eyes and made a face.

"You have to go to bed early tonight, Mio, because you're very crabby today," Amaya said. "Now finish up your breakfast, and we'll get going."

Annoyed, Mio ate her toast.

--

"Why am I getting a dress anyhow?" Mio asked as she followed her mother down an aisle in a clothes store. "Not a kimono?"

"It's not really a traditional party, it's just fancy," said Amaya, handing Mio different dresses as she scanned the racks.

"Mom, do I really need all of these?" asked Mio, peeking around the mountain of dresses in her hands.

"They're to try on, Mio," said Amaya, sounding as if Mio was an idiot.

"But why so many? Let's just get the dress and go."

"There's so many dresses because we want to find one that's just perfect for your slender, feminine figure…"

"Nothing's perfect, Mom," retorted Mio.

"Oh, Mio…" Amaya said, exasperated. After piling three more dresses onto Mio's arms, Amaya shoved her into the dressing room and waited outside. The first dress Mio tried on was a strapless sea foam green that ended at her mid thigh.

Too short for Amaya's taste.

The next dress was a cute yellow dress with spaghetti straps and a small butterfly embroidered onto it.

Too childish.

Next was a long purple dress that covered Mio's feet, and it sleeves covered only her shoulders.

Apparently she looked like an oversized grape in it.

After many dresses had been thrown into the 'no' pile, Amaya and Mio found one that both suited their tastes.

It was a long white and pink dress with a thin ribbon around it and it was strapless.

"See, Mio? You look like a beautiful young woman in a dress," Amaya said as they paid at the counter.

Mio could only shrug.

--

**Yay! And that's the chapter. Thanks for reading.**

**PS: I just forgot, I got the name Hatsuharu from... I think it was Fruits Basket or some other manga... Oh well, just a disclaimer to make sure I don't get sued or anything.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The next days that followed her rather awkward for Mio. She spent most of her time reading in her room or out on the back porch. Other times she'd just watch the clouds or the trees, her mind always wandering back to the Forest of Death.

Mio still lost some sleep over the second part of the Exams, but she promised herself she wouldn't cry again.

Then, as if by a miracle, on Thursday, there was a knock at Mio's door. She ran to open it. Standing there was a superior looking ninja that Mio had never seen before.

"Are you Mio Okayama?" he asked.

"Yes," Mio said.

"Anko Mitarashi and Ibiki Morino sent me to get you," he said. "It's the end of the second part of the Chuunin Exams and they said you would want to see everyone at the tower." Mio's heart gave a funny lurch as she gasped. She made sure her shoes were on and looked back up at the ninja before her.

"Let's go!" she said.

"Okay, but we gotta run," said the shinobi. Knowing her parents were out and wouldn't be back for a long time, Mio shut the door, locked it, and ran off with the ninja.

They ran down the street, to the training field, and back to the Forest of Death. Once at a gate, the ninja produced a key and unlocked the heavy lock that held the door shut.

"Now stay close to me," he said to Mio as he shut the gates once they were in the woods. "One false move here could be fatal." With that, they took off.

Mio wasn't having very much fun running through the forest. The low branches of trees scratched her arms, legs, and face, and she tripped twice, nearly falling flat on her face.

Once she tripped and landed funny on her ankle. It hurt to walk afterwards. Her escort hauled her up onto his back in a piggy-back.

"We'll be there in about an hour," he told her. "In the mean time, hang on tight and don't look down."

"What do you mean don't look- OH MY GOD!" The ninja had shot up into the air and started bounding through the trees at an incredible speed. Mio was terrified. She closed her eyes and clutched to the ninja's shirt until her knuckles turned white.

After what seemed like days, Mio's escort finally announced, "we're here!" as he jumped down and landed on the ground. Before taking off, he turned to her.

"How's your ankle feeling?"

"A little better," Mio said.

"Okay, good. Let's go." Mio and the shinobi took off again. Mio's ankle was still hurting, but she refused to let up. She tried to run full speed towards the tower as much as possible. She had to find out if Kabuto was still alive or not.

"How many teams passed exactly?" Mio panted as she ran.

"No questions until we get to the tower!" answered the ninja. Mio shut her mouth and continued to watch the tower grow bigger as she ran.

Once she and the man reached the building, she was out of breath and her ankle was killing her. The ninja let her into the building, and lead her up three flights of stairs. They soon reached a door labelled 5-S on it.

"Ladies first," said the shinobi, holding the door. Thanking him, Mio ran through it and onto a balcony.

The balcony was in a spacey arena. It had grey tiles on the floor, the balcony encircled the whole place, and there was a huge statue of two hands forming a ram seal with their fingers at the front. There were all the test takers who passed in the middle of the arena.

Mio spotted the nine loud twelve year olds. She couldn't believe they managed to survive. She was happy that they passed. She continued to scan the arena until her eyes fell upon a familiar person. He looked a little banged up, but Mio still knew him. She gasped in both relief and happiness. A huge smile split across her face.

_He made it! He made it! _Mio's eyes continued to rest on Kabuto until she realized the Hokage was speaking to the crowd.

"There were too many Genin teams that passed," he said. "We're going to have to do a preliminary exam to narrow our numbers down." A huge moan sounded from the shinobi. Mio didn't blame them. After five days in the wilderness the last thing she'd want to do is try and pass a preliminary test.

"But, if anyone wishes to quit now and try again next year, they may do so now," added the Third. Mio held her breath. Was anyone going to quit? Suddenly, she heard someone speak.

"Okay, you got me, I'm out," he said. Mio turned her head and gasped. It was Kabuto. He walked off, that smirk of his still on his face. Mio was shocked. She turned to her ninja escort.

"I-I'll be right back," she said, hurriedly. With that, she took off. Mio ran through the door, tore down the stairs, and started to run blindly about the hallways, ignoring her aching ankle. After rounding a dark corner, she saw the silhouette of a man walk calmly down the hallway.

"Kabuto?" Mio asked. The shadow turned around.

"Mio?" It was definitely him. Mio ran up to him, panting, still refusing to give into the pain her ankle was causing her.

"Well, I'm glad to see your here," Kabuto said.

"I'm glad your still alive!" Mio cried, feeling like she was going to burst into a fit of joyful tears. "For the past five days I've been worried sick about you!"

"I told you not to worry," Kabuto said.

"I know, I know, but no one can ever tell me to be calm when I'm worried, and I mean no one with a capital N."

"If you worry too much you'll age very fast," Kabuto said.

"What are you implying!?" Mio cried, crossly. Kabuto chuckled.

"I'm just kidding with you, Mio," he said. Mio moved onto another topic.

"Why did you quit!? You were so close! I-"

"The Chuunin Exams are very hard," Kabuto explained. "And five days in the forest already wore me out, and I just couldn't take another battle. I couldn't do it."

Mio was silent for a minute. Judging by his tone of voice, he was a little discouraged.

"Hey…" she said, softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You gave it your best shot, and I know you'll be able to do it next time. I'm one hundred percent sure." Kabuto smiled and put his hand over Mio's own. She tensed up at the contact.

"Thanks, Mio," he said. Mio gave a shy smile.

"No problem," she said, shakily.

"But I have to go now," said Kabuto. "I'm meeting up with my… sensei…"

"You have a sensei?" Mio asked. "But you're nineteen, you don't need one."

"No matter how old we get we can always learn," Kabuto said. "Right, Mio?"

"I… Never really thought about it that why… I guess you're right," Mio nodded. Kabuto smiled.

"Good. Now I've got to go. My sensei's waiting. And knowing you, you're probably not supposed to be here, eh?" Mio laughed.

"You're right, my parents are out," she said.

"I thought so. Anyway, good bye, Mio," said Kabuto. He gave Mio's hand a light squeeze, turned on his heel, and left. Mio stood alone for a little while, staring off after Kabuto. She heaved a sigh and ran back to the balcony.

--

Mio continued to run as fast as she could home. She was late. She was so late. And she was in huge trouble. Her parents had gotten home two hours ago. Her ankle was feeling a little better so she was able to run with ease. She sped down the streets, until she came to her own, ran to her house, and burst through the front door. Her parents were sitting in the parlour. They stopped their reading and knitting when she came in.

"Where were you, Mio!?" cried Amaya. Mio made up a lie as quickly as she could.

"I-uh-I-I went to meet Akio," she stuttered. "He c-came back today!"

"Oh, good," Amaya smiled. "Is he safe?"

"Yeah, he's alright," Mio smiled.

"So, where did he go anyway?" asked Amaya. Mio nearly swallowed her tongue.

"He-he… Uh-um-He went to the Middle East…" she lied. Amaya furrowed her brow.

"The Middle East?" she said. "Why?"

"He said he was visiting a-a very sick family friend," Mio said. She felt guilty that she was spinning this huge web of lies, especially about her friend, but it was either that or get in trouble.

"Well, I'm glad Akio's okay," said Amaya. She gave her daughter a knowing smile. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're in love with him, Mio-chan." She said. Mio blushed furiously.

"What-!?" she cried.

"Don't deny it," Amaya said. "You've lost sleep and worried your head over him; You're in love, deary."

"But-but…" Mio tried to protest. "I-I-"

"Now, Mio-chan" Amaya said. "You mustn't chase after him now. Let him come to you: That's the man's part of courting. And don't give yourself away all at once, make him work for you; You don't want to seem easy."

"Mom, maybe Kabu- I mean, Akio doesn't love me back?" said Mio, her face turning several shades of red.

"Nonsense," Amaya said. "You're a beautiful young woman, Mio, why wouldn't he like you?"

"Be careful around boys, Mio," said Hatsuharu. "You don't want to fall in love with a bad apple."

"Listen to your father," Amaya said. "But whatever you do, Mio, don't wear the pants in the relationship. Play your part as the woman, and he'll play his as the man."

"Mother, Father, I am not in love with Akio," Mio said, defiantly. She turned to Amaya. "And even if I was in love, I'd do something, I just wouldn't keep my distance and wait." With that she stormed upstairs, and went into her room.

_In love with Akio? In love with Akio!? _Mio thought as she sat on her bed. _What an idea! The real Akio is just a friend, and that's all he'll ever be to me!… As for Kabuto… _Mio made a face. _He's also just a friend. I am not enamoured of him, and that's final!_

--

_"Ow… Ow… Ow… OW! Mom, that hurt!" exclaimed Mio as Amaya did her hair. Amaya huffed as she twisted a section of Mio's straight brown hair into a low bun.__"Mio, stop complaining or I will cut off all your hair, and you will be bald," she threatened. Mio heaved a sigh, and sat rigidly on her stool, letting her mother style her hair. It was Friday, and the Okayama family was getting ready to go to the Takahashis' place for that formal party Mio had been dreading the whole week. _

She had been to Junko and Hotaka Takashi's house before. They were very rich, and owned a fairly large, expensive house. They had two sons, Kouta (fourteen years old) and Itsuki(seven years old). One was ninja, the other one was in the Academy, and they were brats. Mio babysat them once, and, although it sounded very corny, they ended up breaking a valuable vase because of the boy's roughhousing. Junko and Hotaka were not happy when they came back to their home.

"There," Amaya said, satisfied. "You look very pretty, Mio-chan." Mio looked in the mirror in her bathroom. She was slathered in make up, her hair was done in a strange, yet attractive loose, low bun, and she wore her new dress.

_I look pretty… _Mio thought. _But what I wouldn't give just to wear a pair of old jeans and a loose t-shirt…_

"Come on, Mio, we're leaving!" called Hatsuharu. Mio quickly left the bathroom, got her shoes on, and followed her parents out the door.

Mio knew the Takahashis' place was only about a block away, but she still felt weird walking down the dark street in a formal dress with her parents. She tried to balance herself on her heels as best as she could. She watched Amaya walk in her heels, trying to mimic her actions, but her mother had worn heels much longer than Mio. Once the family had arrived at the Takahashis' front door, Mio's feet were already killing her.

"Ah, Amaya!" Junko exclaimed as she opened the large front door. Mio had a hard time hiding her surprise when her eyes fell on Junko's ugly dress. It was blue and yellow striped, and the size and shape of the dress did not fit her stout, chubby figure.

"Junko! How are you?" asked Amaya as she and her friend embraced and kissed each other on the cheeks.

"I'm fine. Come in, come in." Junko led the Okayamas into the large parlour. The Takahashis' parlour was the home of a huge sixty inch HD TV, two leather sofas, and a comfy looking reading chair.

"Hey, Hatsuharu!" said Hotaka as he walked into the living. He and Hatsuharu shook hands firmly. Hotaka was a tall, balding man with small, square glasses. He was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt tucked into his dark dress pants. Mio thought he looked as if he was ready for the office.

"Hey, is everyone here!?" asked two voices in unison. Into the parlour ran the two little terrors, Kouta and Itsuki Takahashi. Itsuki spotted Mio, ran up to her, and threw his arms around her waist.

"Mio!" he said. "Are you still mad about the broken vase? 'Cause you know, it was all Kouta's fault!"

"Was not!" Kouta yelled. "You just don't want to take responsibility, so you decide to suck up to her!"

"I'm not sucking up!" shouted Itsuki, still clinging to Mio's dress.

"Boys, that's enough," said Junko, clapping her hands at her sons. "The vase incident was a long time ago; it's forgotten now."

_Right… _Mio thought, watching as the Takahashi boys ran out of the parlour. _It's all forgotten…_

--

The rest of the night went fairly well. Mio, Amaya, Hatsuharu, Junko, and Hotaka ate dinner at a long, fancy table, striking up light conversation, while the boys sat at a kiddie table throwing food at each other.

After the supper the boys had locked theirselves in their rooms to play video games while the adults sat in the parlour talking and discussing certain things. Mio sat on one of the sofas and remained quiet, listening to the parents talk. All was well until Hotaka mentioned the Chuunin Exams.

"Yeah, our oldest is striving to be a Chuunin, which is an imtermeditate ninja," he explained to Amaya.

"Oh how wonderful," Amaya cooed. "Did he pass?"

"Well, he's passed the first and second stages," Junko said. "But they've given him a month to train and rest up for the final part."

"We just know he'll make us proud," said Hotaka, confidently. Suddenly, he turned his head in Mio's direction. "I accompanied Kouta to the registration, I think I saw you there, Mio. I thought you weren't a ninja." Amaya gave a weird laugh and answered for her daughter.

"Oh, well, she's not," she said. "Actually, Daichi's friend, Ibiki Morino, took her. She-she was just looking around, you know."

"How is Daichi, by the way?" asked Junko.

"Oh, he's great," said Amaya, sounding thankful they changed the subject. "He's now living with his girlfriend, and she is just the sweetest thing I've ever met-"

"Wait," Hotaka interrupted, still talking to Mio. "Were you at the second stage too?"

"Wha-I-n-no," Mio managed.

"Of course she wasn't, I wouldn't permit her to spend even more time with shionbi, I just let her go the first time because Ibiki and Daichi insisted," Amaya lied.

"Are you sure?" Hotaka asked. "Mio, I could have sworn I saw you outside the Forest of Death."

"Forest of _what!?_" asked Amaya and Junko together.

"Well-I-I-" Mio began.

"Yes… Yes, I did see you," Hotaka nodded. "You were talking to some boy with glasses."

Mio was speechless. She wanted to tell Hotaka to shut up. Zip it. Close his trap. But she couldn't, so her strategy was just deny every single little thing he said. However, it was much harder than it sounded.

"A boy?" asked Hatsuharu, paying close attention to the conversation now. "What boy? You were talking with a boy, Mio?"

"Hotaka," said Amaya. "Mio was not at the Chuunin Exams. I had forbidden her to go."

"But, Amaya, she was there," insisted Hotaka. "Before the test started, you looked as if you were going cry while talking to the guy."

"Cry?" Amaya let out another weird, high laugh. "Oh, no, no, no, Hotaka, you see, her friend, Akio, had left for the Middle East that day, so-"

"Akio?" Junko asked. "You mean Akio Yamagato?"

"Yes.."

"Where on earth did you hear he was going to the Middle East?" Junko asked, furrowing her brow.

Mio wanted nothing more than to disappear into thin air at that moment. She should have known her lies would have been revealed at some time or another. She knew she was in deep, deep, trouble, but Amaya wouldn't yell at her in front of Junko and Hotaka, would she?

"Mio said he had gone to the Middle East to see a sick family friend," said Amaya, her face turning a furious shade of red. Junko laughed.

"My, my, Mio, aren't you a little story teller?" she said.

"So…" Amaya said, glaring at Mio as if her daughter was a waving red flag and she was a bull. "Akio was really this boy you met at the exams, huh?"

Mio decided that she officially hated Hotaka and Junko Takahashi. She didn't know what to say or do. She merely nodded her head slightly, gulping.

"And the other day…" Amaya continued, her voice shaking with rage. "You hadn't gone to meet Akio, you had gone to see that boy?"

Nod. Mio was in an unimaginable mess.

There was an appaling silence in the room, The atmosphere was very tense. Mio sat like a statue, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, something did.

Amaya got up, straightened out her dress, and turned to her husband and daughter.

"Hatsuharu, Mio, we're leaving now…" she turned to Junko and Hotaka. "Thank you very much for tonight, but it is late, and we have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow."

"Alright then," Junko said. "Thank you for coming."

"Our pleasure. Good bye, Junko. Bye Hotaka."

"Goodbye, Amaya, Hatsuharu, Mio."

After the Okayama family had left the house, Amaya marched off down the sidewalk back home, not waiting for Hatsuharu and Mio. Mio hurried after her mother.

"Mom… I-I'm sorry," she said. Amaya didn't answer, She didn't even turn around. Mio didn't bother to try again. She just followed her parents back home, dreading what would happen once they were in the house and away from the public.

Once they got home. Amaya turned to Hatsuharu and said, "Go wait upstairs, I'll be there in a minute." Hatsuharu shrugged, and made his way upstairs. Once he was out of sight, the ticking bomb inside Amaya went off.

"YOU UNGRATEFUL, LYING, CHEATING, SELFISH GIRL!" she screamed at Mio. "HOW DARE YOU BREAK OUR RULES! HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME!" Mio didn't say anything, she just stood there, humiliated, angry, and upset.

"YOU'RE A DISHONEST, SELF-CENTERED GIRL, AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE ASHAMED OF YOU!"

"Why try and keep me away from shinobi and kunoichi when I'm so desperate to become one…?" asked Mio. "Are you that determined to make me unhappy!? To hold me down!?"

"YOU ARE NOT A WOMAN OF OUR FAMILY!" shrieked Amaya. "YOU ARE A HOPELESS LOSS OF A LADY, AND YET, YOU WILL NEVER BECOME A KUNOICHI SO LONG AS I'M ALIVE!"

"You talk big…" Mio said. "BUT YOU CAN'T EVEN KEEP YOUR OWN DAUGHTER IN THE HOUSE! I'VE SNUCK OUT TWICE, AND YOU HAVEN'T STOPPED ME!" Mio was shocked to find herself screaming at the top of her lungs, but she wasn't finished yet. "YOU WILL NOT BREAK MY SPIRIT, MOTHER! I AM A KUNOICHI AT HEART!"

"Oh, and did this boy you met tell you that!?" demanded Amaya. "Did he fill your head with stupid ideas and false hopes!? Which brings me to another point, Mio: You were never concerned about Akio, you were only concered for that boy!"

"He has a name, Mother!" yelled Mio. "And yes, he did tell me I would make a good kunoichi, and I never felt more happy when he said that! It's quite a change from hearing your hateful remarks!"

"You, Mio Okayama, are quite a piece of work," Amaya snarled. "You've disobeyed me, and you've fallen in love with a stupid boy who thinks you'd be the next Hokage!"

"What would you know about Kabuto, Mom!?" Mio questioned. "At least he understands me a little better than you do!"

"Oh, Mio, don't start with the teenaged angst-"

"It's the truth, Mom!" Mio shouted. "I am a kunoichi at heart, and I'm in love with someone who doesn't think like an old crone from 1156! Now you can either accept it, or you can bet your bottom dollar that I won't be sleeping here tonight!" There was a horrible silence until Amaya spoke in a trembling voice.

"Sleep where you will, for I am done with you," she growled. Giving her mom a look, Mio opened the front door, stepped out into the night, and slammed it as hard as she could.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Mio continued to walk down the dark, abandoned street, tears flowing from her eyes like a tap. She had never felt so rotten in her life. She was sad, guilt ridden, and restless. But most of all, she was angry with her mother. Right now, Mio was hoping she never saw Amaya again.

_I just want to be a kunoichi so badly… _Mio thought with a heavy heart. She suddenly, passed by a dark store window. She glanced at her reflection in it. She was still in her fancy dress, and her hair was still done neatly. Her eye makeup was running with the tears that spilt from Mio's eyes.

_Who is that person? _wondered Mio as she gazed at the girl who looked like she had a horrible prom night in the window. She had always imagined herself in casual clothes, without any makeup, her hair down, and a Leaf bandana tied around her head.

_This is not me! I don't know this girl! _Mio thought as she continued to gaze sorrowfully at the stranger in the window. _Who is that!? Where's Mio Okayama, the proud ninja of Konahagakure!? _Mio continued to walk, sobbing aloud. She wandered blindly down the quiet street, passing Kikyo Castle, and down to a lake near the boarder of the village. Tired, she sunk to her knees, and leaned over the shore to see her reflection in the water. Sighing, Mio undid her hair, scooped up some water in her hands, and splashed it on her eyes, determined to get all the makeup off them.

--

Kabuto continued on his way down the quiet, lonely street, smiling to himself. He was positive the inavsion of Konaha would work. He had faith in the Sound and Sand Villages, and of course, in his master.

While walking by Kikyo Castle, Kabuto could still see that Gaara kid sitting on one of the statues on the roof… What a creep… He had heard a lot about him from Baki, his sensei. His powers would definitely help the invasion on their part.

The Sound ninja walked on the small path near the dark blue lake near the castle, not paying attention to the shore. Despite his eyes not seeing who was there, his ears did: Someone was crying. He turned around.

A figure was sitting on the shore of the lake, splashing water on her face. Curious, Kabuto did a full about-face to see who it was.

"Look at yourself," the person said to no one in particular. "You were dreaming of being a great ninja, yet here you are, kicked out of the house, alone, in a stupid dress and heels, and trying to wash makeup off." Kabuto recognized that voice. It was Mio. Confused as to why she was crying, alone, and talking to herself, he approached the lake shore to see what the problem was.

--

Mio wiped her eyes and gazed into the water's mirror-like surface. She looked worse than she did before. She sighed, and continued to gaze at her reflection. Suddenly, another appeared beside her own in the water.

"What's this?" he asked. "Having a rough night?" Mio gasped. She turned around, scrambled to her feet, and threw her arms around Kabuto.

"Umm…" Kabuto didn't know what to say. He didn't really expect to have Mio crying into his shoulder by the end of tonight. "Wh-what's wrong?"

"Everything!" Mio sobbed. "My whole damn life is screwed up! I've got a mother living in the past, a father who couldn't care less, and they have a daughter that they're ashamed of!" Mio broke into a fit of tears. Kabuto gently pushed her off him and tried to calm her down.

"Breathe, Mio," he said. He sat her down on the sand "Tell me what happened." Mio took a deep breath and finally got control of herself. She told Kabuto what happened at the Takahashis' house and how her mother reacted when they left.

Kabuto didn't know what to think at first. He could tell Mio was pretty hurt, and that she just wanted to pursue her dream without any difficulty from her parents. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Mio…" he said. "Can I trust you with a secret?"

"Of course, Kabuto," she sniffed.

"Okay, good, because I'm going to let you in on one…" Kabuto smiled. "I'm not really from the Leaf Village." Mio's eyes grew wide.

"You're not?"

"Nope. I'm actually from a village called Otogakure, or the Sound Village," Kabuto explained.

"But then why do you have a leaf headband?" asked Mio.

"Because, I'm acting as a spy."

"Why?"

"Because…" Now, this was where the acting came in. "Konaha stole something from us."

"What did they steal?" asked an intrigued Mio.

"That information can't be revealed," Kabuto said. "But it's very important to the Sound, so I was sent here to spy on the ninja, analyze their abilities, and report back to my master."

"But you said you knew nothing of the Sound Village during the first part of the-" Mio began. Kabuto laughed.

"That was an act, Mio-chan," he said. Mio blushed like mad.

_He added 'chan' onto my name! _"So, within the month, war will probably break out," Kabuto said. Mio got worried.

"But-"

"Just listen," the Sound ninja said. "I know that sounds pretty bad, but I'll offer you something that'll both keep you safe and let you pursue your dreams…" Kabuto leaned towards Mio and spoke quietly. "The Sound Village is always looking for new ninja. If you run away to Otogakure, you'll be able to become a ninja."

"I will!?" asked Mio. Kabuto nodded.

"Yes, you will. You'll be able to leave your mother and all those awful memories behind. You'll be safe in the Sound Village." Mio had an unsure look on her safe.

"You'll never have to deal with your family again. C'mon, Mio-chan," said Kabuto. "We're the good guys in this game…" That was a huge lie. Almost everything Kabuto said was a lie. But, unfortunately, Kabuto was very convincing, and Mio was very gullible, and she was believing every single word he said. On top of that, she was in love with him, so even if she wasn't so gullible she'd believe him anyway.

"Even if I haven't had any formal training I can still be a ninja?" she asked. Kabuto nodded.

"I'll even train you myself if you want," he offered. A huge smile split across Mio's face. She launched herself into Kabuto, knocking him down onto the sand, and gave him a strangling hug.

"Thank you, Kabuto…" Mio breathed. "Thank you…"

"I'm guessing that's a yes then?" Mio nodded vigorously.

"You've saved whatever sanity I have left," she said. Kabuto smiled and sat up.

"I can arrange for someone to take you there tonight," he said. Mio's smile grew wider.

"That'd be wonderful."

"I'd take you myself if I could, but I've got to stay here until further notice," Kabuto said. The two nineteen year olds got up, and left the lake shore.

--

Mio waited by Konaha's gates as Kabuto and another Sound ninja talked away from her. The two of them spoke in hushed voices.

"So, is she meant to be a reserved host body for Orochimaru-sama?" asked the Sound ninja.

"No, Otomaru, she's just going to the Sound Village because she wants to be a ninja," Kabuto said. He quietly explained the situation to his fellow shinobi.

"Will Orochimaru-sama accept her as a ninja?" asked a skeptical Otomaru. "If she'd had no experience before, then-"

"Orochimaru could easily use her as a pawn if he wanted," Kabuto interrupted. "Whatever happens, I know he'll let her into Otogakure. He's always looking for new ninja to help the Sound." Otomaru was still unconvinced.

"Aside from the Konaha invasion, the other goal was to bring back Sasuke Uchiha, and yet you give us a civilian girl?"

"She has potential, Otomaru… And we WILL get Sasuke eventually," Kabuto said. Otomaru sighed.

"Whatever, I just want to go back to the Sound Village; I'm sick of the Leaf Village…" Otomaru walked off towards the gates of Konaha. Kabuto followed him.

"What the heck are you doing?" Otomaru asked him. "You're supposed to stay here."

"I have to talk to Mio," he said. Mio approached him.

"Yes?"

"I have to stay here and help with the fighting," Kabuto said. "But listen to me and do as I say: Go with Otomaru back to the Sound Village, wait for me there, and for God's sake, do not worry!" Mio smiled sheepishly.

"I won't. I swear it," she promised.

"Good. Before you know it I'll be back, then we can start your training." Kabuto was about to turn away and leave Mio with Otomaru, but Mio stopped him.

"Wait a sec," she said. Kabuto turned back to her.

"What?" Mio suddenly, didn't know what to do or say. Should she tell him she loved him just in case? Should she keep her trap shut? She sighed. He had to go, and so did she, so she just shook her head.

"N-never mind… Be safe."

"I always am." With that, Kabuto disappeared. Mio stared off after him, regretting not saying those famous three words to him before he left.

"C'mon, Moe, let's get going," called Otomaru, walking off.

"My name is Mio," Mio corrected him, running after him. She gave Konahagakure one last look, and continued to follow Otomaru.

--

For about a day, Otomaru lead Mio through the forest, over streams, and past caves, on their way to Otogakure. Mio had rapidly become fatigued. Otomaru was a very fast ninja, and she was deprived of food and water for twenty-four hours didn't help. To top it all off, Mio was still in her dress, and although she had ditched her heels, she was still barefoot, and her feet had tread over broken branches, thorns, and mucky leaves more than once.

When the pair stopped for a breif rest, Otomaru reached into his bag, pulled out a bundle of clothes and tossed them to Mio.

"Put 'em on," he said. "You won't be able to keep up in that fruity dress of your's."

Mio gave him a look. Her dress wasn't fruity, she thought it was very tasteful. But, she ignored him, ventured a little way away from him, and changed into her new clothes.

Her new attire consisted of a small shoulder poncho that had a pattern similar to a snake's skin on it; a grey t-shirt under it; black cotton leggings; a purpl-greyish skirt type thing with a Ying-Yang symbol on it; and black zori. The only thing that was missing was her headband.

She walked back to Otomaru carrying her dress in her hands. He gave her a passive look and got up.

"Drop it," he said, gesturing to Mio's dress, "you don't need it anymore." Mio dropped the dress on the forest floor, and quickly followed her escort, unhappy that he got time to rest while she had to go off and change.

While running through the forest, Mio became more and more annoyed with Otomaru. He often mumbled under his breath about how one thing or another was futile or a bother. So far he had complained about Konaha, the Sand Village, and the Chuunin Exams.

Right now, he was muttering about Mio.

"…Bring some random girl into the Sound Village…" he mumbled. "…What was Kabuto thinking?… Girl probably doesn't even know how to throw a kunai straight… Shouldn't have done… What use will she be to Orochimaru?"

"I'm right behind you," Mio said, indignantly. "I can hear you." Otomaru turned to her and gave her a snide look.

"I wasn't talking to you," he snapped. "Keep your nose out of my bussiness."

"Your bussiness becomes mine when your talking about me," Mio shot back.

"Oh, shut up and just keep up," growled Otomaru. Mio felt like kicking him, but instead she concentrated on her new home.

Mio and Otomaru continued on through the night. Night changed into morning, and morning changed into the afternoon. Mio had been running through the forest all night, and she felt like she was going to drop dead with exhaustion. As the hot afternoon sun burned in the sky, Mio saw a building appear in the distance.

It was a very strange building. It seemed to lead into the ground, the entrance was a huge, dark, door frame, and above it there were to painting of the silhouettes of snakes.

"A-are we in Otogakure?" asked Mio.

"Technically, yes," Otomaru answered. "But this is away from all the actual village."

"What is this place?" Otomaru sighed.

"Women are so inquisitive," he muttered. "This Orochimaru-sama's lair."

"Who's Orochimaru?" Mio pressed on.

"You ask too many questions," said the Sound ninja, sharply. Mio stopped running and waited until Otomaru realized she had stopped running.

"What are doing?" he asked.

"I'm not going into that place until you tell me who Orochimaru is," Mio said, defiantly. Otomaru rolled his grey eyes and sighed.

"Orochimaru is the leader of the Sound Village," he said.

"Oh, cool," Mio said. "Am I going to meet him?"

"No, he's in the Leaf Village now, you're going to have to wait."

"Then why are we going in there now?"

"Because Kabuto told me to keep you here until they came back… If they ever do…" added Otomaru with malice.

"Hey, they _will _come back, I know it!" Mio snapped. Otomaru didn't bother to say anything back and led her into Orochimaru's lair.

It was very dark inside. As Mio's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that she was being led down a narrow hallway. She passed a large window that looked out onto a large room with many doors around it. It looked like a prison.

"What's that room for?" asked Mio, poiting out the window.

"None of your bussiness," Otomaru said, gruffly. Mio glanced around the corridor, which was very stark and plain. She passed by a plain wooden door with a sign that said, AUTHORIZED PERSONELL ONLY on it. She didn't even bother asking Otomaru what was in the room.

He led Mio up to another plain wooden door and opened it. Inside the forbiddingly windowless room was a bed, a bedside table, and a lamp on it. Otomaru pushed Mio in.

"Wait, what about-" Mio began to ask.

"Good night," Otomaru said, coolly, closing the door, leaving poor Mio in the darkness.

"But… It's not even night time…" Mio said to no one in particular. Shrugging, she made her way over to the single bed, lay on it, snuggled under its thin covers, and closed her eyes to sleep, her mind going over the recent events.


	8. Chapter 7

****

Thank you, something541 for the reviews. Here's the next chapter:

--

Chapter Seven

When Mio woke up, she forgot where she was. She jumped out of the unfamiliar bed, turned on the single lamp on the bedside table, and ran to the door, unlocked it, and ran out into the hallway.

Then she remembered that she had run away. She had run away from the Hidden Leaf Village. She had run away from her family. Away from her disinterested father and unfair mother. Mio glanced around the stark hallway. This was her new home now.

Mio wasn't sure what time it was, so she wandered about the hallways until she passed a dirty old clock hanging crookedly on one of the walls. It was nine thirty in the morning. Mio shivered, looking down the foreboding corridor. It sure didn't feel like nine thirty a.m. The building was so dark and gloomy it felt like it was midnight. Mio sighed and continued down the hallway.

She wondered if anyone else was in Orochimaru's lair. She hoped so. Mio had this pathological fear of being alone in a new and strange place. Maybe Otomaru was still around. Having him around was better than having no company at all. Mio set off to go look for him.

Mio wandered aimlessly down the hall, looking for any sign of Otomaru or any other human being. Suddenly, she passed the wooden door that read, AUTHORIZED PERSONELL ONLY. Mio knew she wasn't aloud in there, but she couldn't help but to wonder if Otomaru or anyone else was in there. She turnd that handle of the door. It was unlocked. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in.

Otomaru wasn't in there but someone else was. It was a boy. He was in what looked like a hospital bed. Many tubes were in his mouth, probably to help him breathe. His eyes were covered with a cloth, and numerous IV's were in his arms and hands. The boy's exposed chest had some sort of marking on it. Mio wondered if it was a special tatoo. Hearing the boy's heavy breathing told Mio he was asleep. The Sound Nin-too-be crept a little closer to the boy's bed.

Mio glanced at the sleeping patient and then at the computers at the other side of the bed. A couple monitored the boy's vital signs, while the others seemed to be hooked up to surveillence cameras, for the pictures on their screen were empty rooms.

Mio turned her attention back to the bedridden boy. Never had she seen such a sick person. She wondered why he was in such a condition. Mio glanced at the cloth covering the patients eyes. Curiosity overcame her and she reached up to pull the fabic back to see the boy's eyes, but suddenly, a firm hand caught her wrist, and with extreme strength and speed, Mio was thrown out of the room. She collided with the wall, and fell onto the floor. Coughing from being winded, she looked up at who had thrown her out of the sick boy's room.

Otomaru glared furiously at her, slammed the door, approached her, grabbed the front of her shirt and hauled her up.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed, his face inches from Mio's.

"I-I-" Mio stuttered, but Otomaru cut her off.

"You're a nosy little girl, you know that?" He dropped her back onto the floor. Mio stared up at him, wanting nothing more than to sock him in the face, but she suspected he'd be able to dodge it. He was a ninja, after all.

"You're coming with me." Otomaru grabbed her arm, pulled her up, and dragged her off down the corridor.

"Let me go!" Mio yelled at him. Otomaru ignored her and continued down the hall, muttering.

"Stupid girl… Should've kept her in her room… We ask for Sasuke Uchiha, and Kabuto gives us a worthless, foolish girl…"

"Why do you keep talking about this guy called Sasuke Uchiha?" asked Mio.

"Mind your own bussiness," Otomaru snarled. They reached Mio's bedroom door. The angry Sound ninja opened it and shoved Mio in.

"You're staying in here until you learn to keep your nose out of other people's businesses!" Mio winced as Otomaru slammed the door. She sighed and sat down on the bed. What a way to start the day in a new home…

--

Mio spent the next month in and around Orochimaru's lair. Otomaru eventaully decided to let her out of her bedroom after about a week after the incident with the sick boy occurred. Mio spent her days drifting around Otogakure's leader's home, wondering when Kabuto would come home. She was getting awfully lonely. There wasn't really anyone else in the lair except for Otomaru and that bedridden boy as far as she knew. And Mio wasn't exactly what you would call 'friends' with the healthy one. Otomaru was a real complainer, and his grievance was usually over Mio.

"Here I am, taking care of a dumb woman when I could be helping with the invasion…" he'd usually murmur. Mio was getting sick and tired of hearing negativity from Otomaru. She missed Kabuto's encouraging words and patience. Actually, Mio missed everything about him. But she refused to get worried or cry. She had made a promise to Kabuto and she would not break it.

Then, one night, Mio was sitting on her bed, thinking about what was happening back in the Leaf Village, whether the Sound ninja had been successful or not. They had been gone for what seemed like an eternity. Slowly but surely, she began to wonder if Kabuto was okay…

_No, Mio, _she told herself. _If you start worrying, you'll be breaking your promise… Anyway, remember what Kabuto said: "If you worry too much you'll age quickly". _Mio laughed aloud at the memory. She gave a sad smile.

_I just hope he'll hurry up and come back here, _she thought. She heaved a sigh and sat silent on her bed, alone with her thoughts, silence ringing in her ears. Suddenly, a great deal of yelling sounded from the floor below her, making her jump. It sounded like someone was in pain. Mio pressed her ear to the floor boards. She could hear someone yelling and swearing.

"Saru-tobi- you-!" yelled a high, raspy voice. Mio couldn't recognize the voice, but she continued to listen. She heard someone mumbled something, but they trailed off.

"Don't make it sound like you're consoling me, or else I'll kill you!" warned the first voice. Mio raised her eyebrows. She didn't know who was yelling at who, but whoever was doing the shouting was obviously not having a good day. Mio could only hear mumbles after that, so she sat back on her bed, deciding not to investigate the argument. But she some how hoped it was Otomaru being yelled at. Today he shouted at her for glancing at the sick boy's door, and she was looking for revenge.

Mio remained in her room for a little while longer until she heard a knocking at the door. She sighed, worked up some courage, and shouted at the door.

"Otomaru, I sure hope that was you getting yelled at because for the past month you've been a real jerk, and you deserved more than that! Now leave me the heck alone!" Mio heard a soft laugh from behind the door.

"Is that really a nice way to greet a ninja back from battle?" The door opened and in stepped Mio's pash, Kabuto Yakushi, alive and well.

Mio gaped at him, time stopping for a minute. Kabuto gave her an amused look.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he asked. Mio didn't say anything. Suddenly, she leaped off the bed, ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

"I thought you'd do that…" Kabuto said, laughing. Mio, however, wasn't laughing. She started to cry, finally letting her bottled up emotions out. She tried to get some control over herself.

"Th-thank God… Y-you're alive…" she sobbed. Kabuto sighed.

"You worried again, didn't you?" he asked. Mio gave a weird smile and pulled away from him for a second.

"No, no, I didn't," she insisted. "I really didn't! I swear it on the Third's life, that-"

"You can't swear on the Third's life anymore, Mio, he's dead," Kabuto said.

"What!? Oh my God, what happened!?" Mio asked.

"He was killed in the fighting," Kabuto told her. He didn't tell Mio who killed the Hokage and how, but he didn't need to, for Mio spoke.

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore," she sniffed. She sighed. "I'm just glad your alright."

"I'm glad you're okay too," Kabuto said, quietly. Mio looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"I'm glad you made it here okay," he said. "If something had happened to you, it would be quite a loss of a kunoichi." Mio blushed a little.

_He cares…! _she thought, light-headed. She sighed.

"Otomaru's been driving me crazy," she said. "He hates my guts." Kabuto shrugged.

"He hates every new comer's," he reasoned.

"Well… I've gotten pretty lonely here," Mio said. "I've missed you a lot."

"I've missed you too." Mio felt even more colour rush to her face.

_Say it! _she told herself. _Just say it and get it over with! _Summoning as much courage as she could, Mio ignored her buckling knees and spoke.

"Hey, look, Kabuto, I-I have to tell you s-something," she managed.

"I'm all ears," he said, smirking.

"You see, I-uh- After the fight with my m-mom… Well, actually, it was before that. After the end of the second stage of the Ch-chuunin Exams, I-I…" Mio stopped. She was babbling. She always babbled when she was nervous.

"Oh, never mind," she said, discouraged. She let go of Kabuto completely and was about to turn away, but he caught her wrist.

"I know what you were going to say," he said. Mio turned to him.

"You did?"

"Very much so; you don't have to be so frightened." Mio was skeptical.

"I don't think we're on the same page here," she said.

"Believe me, we are, you just think I'm wrong about what you were going to say," Kabuto shot back.

"But you didn't!" Mio said, a little frustrated now.

"I did."

"Prove it!" Mio half shouted. What she was met with was something she wasn't expecting. She thought Kabuto would just come up with a snide come back, but instead, he yanked on her wrist, making her fall forewards.

Maybe it was a total fluke or miraculous fate, but whatever it was, the outcome was the same: After Kabuto had pulled Mio foreward, he caught her before she could fall any further, and kissed her.

It was a light kiss. He only pressed his lips against her's for about five seconds. Even so, when he pulled away, Mio was shocked.

"But-but… H-how did you know?" she spluttered. Kabuto smirked.

"You seem to have a habit of making your emotions blatantly obvious," he told her. Mio flushed.

"Was I really that obvious?" she asked. Kabuto nodded. Mio grimaced. She knew she should've been a little more obsure when it came to her sentiments, but what did it matter now? Kabuto kissed her first.

Mio was about to kiss him back, but a thought hit her. Did he really mean it or was he just trying to proove that was what she was thinking about?

_"Hey, are you being serious about that kiss or-" she began but stopped when Kabuto rolled his eyes._

"If you're going to be a ninja, you're going to have to not be so clueless, Mio-chan," he said. Despite the sarcastic answer, Mio couldn't have felt happier. She straightened up, slipped her arms around his neck, pulled him closer to her and kissed him back.

Mio had kissed a couple of boys in the past. But usually, she refused to kiss them unless they had known each other for some time, dated, and told her that they loved her. She hadn't known Kabuto for very long, they hadn't been anywhere together alone, and he did not tell her that he loved her (directly, anyway), and yet, Mio felt closer to him than any of the boys she dated in the past.

For a little while, Kabuto responded to Mio's affection, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her a little closer to him, and deepening the kiss. But, he pulled away all too suddenly, as if he had forgotten something.

"What's wrong?" Mio asked.

"Come with me," Kabuto said. "You have to meet Lord Orochimaru." Mio followed her new found beau out of the room, trying to sort her mixed emotions. She was happy that Kabuto was here and unharmed, she felt a lot of affection for him, and felt loved and appreciated by him. Then came the anxiety of meeting someone new, and considering it was the village leader, that made Mio a little more nervous.

She followed Kabuto down the dark hall and down a flight of stairs. At the foot of the stairs was an old door made of rotting wood waiting for the two of them. Kabuto pushed it open, the door creaking in protest as Mio followed him inside the room.

The average sized room was dark, candles being the only source of light in the place. There was a table on the right side of the room. On it were jars full of various vermin like rats, mice, and most of all, snakes. The table was also scattered with various scrolls, melted candles, and other rubbish. Mio's eye caught a decaying hand with a ring on it on the far left corner of the table. Tearing her gaze away from the table she looked up at the ceiling. The wooden rafters looked as if they could cave in any second now.

The room reminded her of a room you might find in a haunted house. Suddenly, Mio heard a sinister chuckle come from the back of the room.

"Such a curious looking one you've brought to me, Kabuto," said that same high, raspy voice that was yelling before. "Does she have a name?" Mio looked to the back of the room and nearly gasped.

Sitting in a chair was a man. He had his arms and hands bandaged, his skin was as white as a ghost's, and the shadow upon his snake-like face only enhanced the scary vibe he gave off. But what really frightened Mio was the man's eyes. When she saw his eyes, Mio had a vision of her own death. She struggled to tell him her name.

"M-my name-is-M-Mio O-Okayama," was all she managed to say, The terrifying man smirked.

"Mio, eh?" Suddenly, he opened his mouth, and a long, slimy tongue shot out and wrapped itself around Mio's wrist. It pulled her up to the man, their faces inches from each other's. Mio couldn't tear her eyes from his. A snake's gaze reflected in her frightened one.

"My name is Orochimaru," the man said, unwinding his abnormally long tongue from around Mio's wrist. "Kabuto tells me you want to be a ninja."

"I-I-Yes, I d-do," Mio faltered., wiping the saliva on her wrist onto her leggings. Orochimaru gave her a disinterested look.

"You seem to lack the bravery a ninja requires," he said, observing the nineteen year old's quivering body and the scared look on her face. "The bravery a Sound Nin requires, anyway."

"I assure you, Lord Orochimaru, she's still new here and-" Kabuto began.

"Kabuto, I think she can speak for herself," Orochimaru interrupted him. He turned back to Mio. "What village do you come from?"

"Konahagakure," Mio said, making an effort to speak coherently. Orochimaru gave a small, evil smile. He liked the sound of this.

"The Leaf Village, hm? What can you tell me about it?"

"Well…" Mio thought for a minute. "How do you mean? About it's people? Geography?…" Mio wasn't aware Orochimaru was trying to get secret information on the Leaf Village out of her.

"I mean about its ninja," the Sanin said, impatiently. Mio shrugged.

"I couldn't tell you; I'm not a ninja. My brother is, though. He's told me about nin-jutsu, the Academy training, et cetera." Orochimaru was a little disappointed. She only knew information that he obtained from the beginning. He studied her for a minute.

Mio Okayama sure looked like a kunoichi in her new clothes, but what of her abilities?

Curious as to how well she could dodge, Orochimaru shot his tongue out at her. Mio let out a yell and scrambled out of the tongue's way, hiding behind Kabuto.

_Not the most graceful, but at least she got out of the way, _the Sanin thought. "Mio, see that throwing star on the table?" Mio looked behind her. On the table was a small, dirty shuriken. She picked it up, walked out from behind Kabuto and held up the weapon.

"This one?"

"Throw it at that jar over there." Orochimaru nodded to the small glass jar on an end table near the nineteen year old. He was testing her on her aim now.

Mio tossed the shuriken at the jar. It broke as the throwing star spun through it. She smiled. Playing Frisbee with Daichi over the summer had paid off.

_She's got a good aim and can dodge well, _Orochimaru observed. _But that doesn't really mean she's a good ninja… _He thought for a moment. _But I suppose with a bit of training she'll become a useful pawn. _The snake man smirked. _And if not, she's young and strong ; She'd make a good vessel if need be. _"Well, Mio," he said. "You're not a ninja already, correct?"

"Yeah, I'm just a civilian…" the girl answered. "I want to be one, but my mother had other plans for me."

Mio stood there, trying to look brave as Orochimaru studied her with his terrible gaze.

"You really want to be a ninja, eh?" he said. Mio nodded vigorously.

"I really do," she insisted. Orochimaru chuckled.

"Well then, Mio Okayama, you will become one," he said. "But you need to be trained…" He turned to Kabuto. "Kabuto, since you don't have anything better to do aside from take care of me, I'm putting you in charge of Mio-san's training."

"With pleasure," Kabuto said, giving Mio a knowing look. She smiled at him.

"Good," Orochimaru said. "Now, be off."

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru, thank you!" Mio thanked him, joyfully. She turned on her heel and made her way to the door. "I'll be in my room." With that, she disappeared.

"My, my, isn't she a flighty one," Orochimaru noted when Mio was gone. He turned to the Medic Nin. "She seems quite attached to you, Kabuto-san."

"A little more than attached," Kabuto said.

"Oh, is she enamoured of you?" Kabuto nodded.

"And do you return such feelings?"

"She thinks I do," Kabuto smirked. Orochimaru smiled along with him.

"So, you've been lying to her?"

Nod. "About everything." Orochimaru laughed.

"She's fallen in love with a lying little weasel and she doesn't know any better? This is too good…"

"She does have potential, though," Kabuto said. "She snuck out of her house three times, and you saw the way she dodges and throws weapons."

"Train her well, Kabuto," Orochimaru told him. "She may become of use to Otogakure one day."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The next day, Mio was outside with Kabuto, ready to start her training. But something was missing- Her own ninja headband.

"You'll get it when I think you're ready," Kabuto told her. "Right now, just focus on the basics. I assume your brother's taught you about nin-jutsu, gen-jutsu, and tai-jutsu, right?"

"Right."

"Did he teach you how to mould your chakra?" Mio shook her head.

"No. We both knew my mom wouldn't approve, so he didn't teach me how."

Kabuto explained about the twelve ninja hand signs and how they allowed one to release their chakra and preform certain jutsu.

"That sounds kinda hard," Mio said.

"It just takes practise," Kabuto told her. "Here, I'll show you the handsigns…" He showed Mio all twelve signs slowly so that she could imitate him, Before long, Mio felt her chakra flow through her. She smiled.

"Kabuto, I think I'm doing it!" she said, happily.

"Good. Now I'll teach you a simple technique to start," said Kabuto. He took Mio's hand and started to tie small chimes onto her fingers.

"What are these for?" Mio asked as Kabuto started on her other hand.

"They're special chimes," he answered. "They don't make any sound unless you do the hand signs, Rat, Tiger, Snake."

"What'll happen when I do those signs?" asked Mio, dangling the soundless chimes on her fingers.

"You'll see," Kabuto smiled. Shrugging, Mio did the three handsigns, but nothing happened.

"Did I do something wrong?" she wondered aloud.

"Yes, you made the Dog sign in the Snake's place. Snake looks like this…" Kabuto showed her the sign. "Try it again." Mio gave the chimes on her fingers one more unsure look and tried again. Rat. Tiger. Snake.

Suddenly, a high chiming sounded from within the trees. Mio looked around.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Your chimes," Kabuto answered. "You see, the chimes work when your chakra wills them to. When your chakra and hand movements are combined, the chimes produce sound."

"But the noise didn't come from my chimes, they came from over there." Mio pointed to the trees.

"That's the whole point of this jutsu, Mio," Kabuto said. "The chimes are heard elsewhere when your chakra is realeased into them; it's a technique that's supposed to distract your enemies while you get ready for your attack."

Mio was amazed. She never knew how logical and sly ninja art was. For the rest of their training time Kabuto taught Mio some simple tai-jutsu and one illusion. He could tell she was a fast learner but still needed practise. He remembered what Orochimaru had told him yesterday.

_"Train her well, Kabuto. She may become of use to Otogakure one day."_

--

Kabuto fulfilled Orochimaru's wishes. As the weeks went by, Mio became stronger, tougher, and more skilled as a kunoichi, although, she wasn't trained like a usual female ninja.

When enrolled in the Academy, girls took some classes separate from the boys to learn things only kunoichi could do. Since Mio had never gone to the Academy and she was being trained by a shinobi, her skills and mannerism in combat was more shinobi-like. None the less, she was turning out to be a good ninja. She was happy to finally be called a kunoichi.

Weeks turned into months, and all that time, Kabuto continued to pretend he was in love with Mio. If Mio hadn't been so trusting and easy to fool she would have seen through her so-called 'lover's' deciet, but she was too innocent and blinded by her own affection for him to see it, so she happily continued to treat Kabuto like the person she thought he was: Her boyfriend.

Although he didn't think of Mio as his inamorata, Kabuto still accepted her as a ninja and a friend. However, as time passed, he began to like Mio more and more. Although he didn't really acknowlege it, Kabuto began to return Mio's affection. The day he finally accepted it was when he thought Mio was ready to receive her own headband.

It had been quite a few months now, and Mio had learned a lot. Gradually, she learned how to make her enemies deaf with the chimes Kabuto had given her, she had improved in her gen-jutsu, and was catching up to a regular shionbi status as far as tai-jutsu went. Kabtuo was pretty sure she was ready, but he couldn't just give her the bandana; she had to show him one more thing before she received it.

Mio was waiting outside watching the silvery globe known as the moon in the sky when Kabuto approach her, the new Sound headband in his pocket. Mio turned to face him and smiled.

"Kabuto-kun, there you are," she greeted him. "What are we doing today?"

"Nothing," Kabuto began.

"Nothing?" Mio asked, confused.

"We're not really working on anyting today, _you _are going to do something."

"What's that exactly.

"Fight me," he answered her. Mio snickered.

"Come on, stop kidding around," she said, smiling at him. Kabuto didn't smile back. He only with drew a hooked kunai knife from his weapon holster.

"I'm not kidding, Mio," he said, sternly. "Fight me."

"Kabuto-" Mio started, her voice hesitant. Kabuto ignored her and made the first move. He ran at her and thrust his kunai forward. Mio jumped out of the way and took out three shuriken.

_He wasn't kidding, _she realized. He really wanted her to fight him. Mio moved behind Kabuto and threw the shuriken at him. He did a quick replacement jutsu and the three throwing stars sunk into an inanimate log. Mio looked around. Kabuto was no where in sight.

_To my right? _No.

_To my left? _No.

_Behind me? In front of me? _Nada. Mio looked up.

Kabuto was above her, raising his kunai over his head, getting ready to bring it down on Mio if she didn't move. Mio flew out of the way and ran a little away from Kabuto. Doing so, her foot hit a rock, she somersaulted in the air, and landed on the hard, unforgiving ground on her back. Mio scrambled to her feet, gasping for breath. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind.

"Looking for someone?" asked Kabuto's smug voice in her ear. Mio quickly made a few handsigns and replaced herself with a log and ended up behind Kabuto.

Kabuto, on his part, was a little disappointed. So far, Mio was just running. He wanted her to do some actual fighting. He knew she had the know-how and the skills, and he wanted her too show it.

After a little while, Kabuto had Mio cornered. He had chased her in between two huge boulders. Mio didn't want to do another replacement justu, for it would just waste her chakra, so she decided to fight. She started off with some tai-jutsu

She ran at Kabuto and pushed the ball of her foot into his chest, hoping it would throw him off balance. However, Mio reminded herself this was probably a mock battle so she held back, and only gave her opponent a light tap with her foot.

"You're holding back, Mio," Kabuto said, stepping out of the way of a second half-hearted kick. "Give it your all."

"But I don't want to hurt-" she began, but Kabuto didn't let her finish. He suddenly delivered an uppercut to Mio's chin, sending her flying. Splinters of pain tore up her face. She landed on the ground some feet away from Kabuto. Mio was somewhat shocked. Kabuto never hit her that hard. She felt a little hurt on the inside that he did that, but his sinister chuckle interrupted her feeling sorry for herself.

"Get up, Mio-chan," he said. He also seemed to take noticed of the tears brimming in her eyes. "And don't be a baby; Ninja hide their emotions." Mio slowly got up. Taking her time, she brushed herself off, and wiped the blood from her lip, and looked up at Kabuto. Her green eyes having an odd empty feel to them. As she stared emotionlessly at him, Kabuto was about to be the first to attack.

Suddenly, Mio proved he didn't have to.

Yelling, the kunoichi ran at him with extreme speed. Before he knew what was happening, Kabuto was knocked to the ground as Mio pounced on him like some deranged wild cat. Mio did everything she could to try and hurt her trainer. Kabuto fought back but less easily this time. There was a brief scuffle in which the two nineteen year olds got cut, scratched, and bruised. After trying to hold Kabuto down for God knows how long, Mio finally got pushed off of him. She rolled onto her back away from him, and drew ten small chimes with string on them, and hurriedly attached them to her fingers. While slipping the last chime onto her pinky, Kabuto tackled her.

Mio struggled to get free, or at least preform a justu that would help her, but Kabuto held both her arms over her head with one had as he held his kunai in his other hand.

"It takes you too long to put those things on, Mio-chan," he said. "Now look what's happened: I've gained the upper hand." As he dangled the dangerous knife over Mio, she quickly drew her knees up to her torso, and kicked Kabuto in the stomach. He flew back, but recovered, skidding across the ground on his two feet and one hand. Mio jumped up and quickly made a few handsigns.

"Now you're going to get it!" she yelled at him. Usually Mio shouted out her jutsu but she didn't this time; she wanted to catch Kabuto off guard. The technique she was using was called Sound River Justu. It was a jutsu that made her chimes produce a really loud sound. It wasn't loud enough to make someone deaf, but it would shake her opponent up badly.

After the last hand sign, a shrill ringing chime sounded throughout the forest. It sounded like a thousand nails scratching against a chalk board. Mio smiled as she watched a blank look crossed Kabuto's face. She dashed up to him and tackled him to the ground.

Once on top of him, Mio quickly drew a kunai, but she stopped. As she leaned over him, Mio looked upon Kabuto's face. He was scratched, bruised, and his lower lip was bleeding. Mio was somewhat unaware her face was in the same state, but she didn't care at the moment. What was she doing? She was being hostile toward the man loved, and although he urged her to, Mio just couldn't do it. She gazed into his dark eyes as a wave of guilt swept over her.

"Oh, Kabuto…" she murmured, releasing him. "…I'm sorry…" Kabuto didn't answer at first, but soon, he laughed quietly and sat up, smiling at Mio.

"That was quite a fight you put up, Mio-chan," he said. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because I lost my temper with you and now you look like you've been running through the mill," Mio answered him gently. Kabuto sighed.

"I was hoping you'd lose your temper," he said. "That's what I was aiming for; if you had gone the whole fight thinking of me as your boyfriend instead of your opponent, you wouldn't have stood a chance against me."

Mio gaped at him. How could she have missed that!? Kabuto had even reminded her before to not let her feeling show through. She felt like a complete dunce.

"But, you apologized anyway," Kabuto said heavily. "Which is a real shame, because at the end of the fight, I would have given you this-" He pulled out the brand new Sound headband from his pocket and Mio let out a surprised squeak. Suddenly, she got a discouraged look on her face. Kabuto studied her for a minute.

Her green eyes were a little downcast and dull, but the moonlight illuminated them a little bit. Her medium length brown hair was a little messed up from the fight, but it still managed to look presentable. All over her face were cuts and marks, but she was still quite pretty. A small smile crept onto Kabuto's face.

"Well… Ninja can't be perfect," he said. "As long as you promise to get your emotions under control, I'll give you your headband, Mio." A huge smile split across Mio's face. She looked like a kid at Christmastime. She wrapped her arms around Kabuto's neck and kissed him on the lips.

"I promise," she said, once she broke away from him. Kabuto looked up at her. Those pretty green eyes of her's were filled with sincerity and honesty. Before he realized what he was doing, Kabuto leaned towards her and returned her kiss if not with even more passion than her first one.

That's when the both of them began to return a mutual feeling.


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the slow update. I got caught up with my other story and other stuff. 'neways, here's the chappy:**

**--**

**Chapter Nine**

For the next few months, life was fabulous for Mio Okayama. She still trained with Kabuto, who was now genuinely in love with her, and often went on mission that ranged from D to C. Mio hoped she could go a little higher one day, but she was warned by Kabuto that many of Otogakure's missions were very advanced and secretive, so she was careful not to hope for more than she could handle.

Mio was also becoming less and less afraid of Orochimaru and more loyal to him (Kabuto rubbed off on her greatly), although she was still cautious and wary around him.

Despite living her dreams, Mio did get a little homesick from time to time. She missed her brother and her father greatly. One night she woke up from a nightmare, crying over her family. Knowing her beau was just down the hallway, she leaped out of bed, opened her door, and ran into his room. She knew she had woken him up, but she was in desperate need for some comfort at the time.

Thankfully, Kabuto wasn't angry with her, and tried his best to calm her down. Eventually, Mio relaxed and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.

Ever since that night, Mio no longer shed tears over Daichi and her father. In fact, she became very good at keeping her emotions on the inside. Even when Kabuto and Orochimaru left to go find some famous healer for the Sanin's arms and came back unsuccessful. Still, she often didn't hide positive feelings when she was around Orochimaru's right hand man.

All this time, Kabuto had been lying to Mio about everything. So far, Mio had been tricked into believing Otogakure was a good village that Konaha had turned its back on, and that Orochimaru was the one who had been betrayed by his former village. Kabuto had taken advantage of Mio's gullible nature and kept feeding her lie after lie. And Mio was digesting everyone one of them.

One night, however, it all went down the drain.

Kabuto was away for a little while, and Mio was outside, enjoying the warm summer night. She had been out there for quite a while and decided it was time to go back inside. Feeling energetic, Mio ran around to the front of Orochimaru's lair, sped around the corner, and crashed right into someone else, nearly knocking them down. Snarling, the person turned to face her.

It was a fourteen year old girl. She was a little shorter than Mio. She had dark eyes, flaming red hair, and an angry scowl on her face. Accompanying her was a huge, slightly overweight boy, a dark skinned boy with six arms, and a pale boy with blue hair, lips, and another head attached to the nape of his neck.

"Watch where you're going," the girl snapped. Mio had seen this girl around but she never really got aquainted with the kid.

"Tayuya, don't talk to her like that," said the tall, fat boy. The girl named Tayuya turned and gave her companion a dirty look.

"Mind your own beeswax, Jiroubou; I can say whatever the heck I want," she told him.

"Hey, I didn't mean to run into you, young lady, okay?" Mio said, boldly. Tayuya spun around and glared at Mio. The boy with two heads chuckled.

"Now you've done it: You've gotten her mad," he taunted.

"You think you're tough, don't you, you loser," she sneered. "Just because you're older than me you think can boss me around? Well, I have news for you, creep-"

"Tayuya, give it a rest," Jiroubou said again. Tayuya ignored him and studied Mio for a minute.

"Hey…" she said. "Aren't you that chick from the Hidden Leaf Village?"

"I don't know, maybe," Mio said, indignantly.

"The one who wanted to become a ninja and came here?" the girl pressed.

"Yeah, I'm that chick," Mio said, sarcastically. She stopped being snappy for a moment and looked around. "I'm glad I came here too… Kabuto told me about how Konahagkure turned its back on Otogakure, and how Orochimaru-sama was forced to flee here… I never realized what a terrible village Konaha is." Suddenly, the four teenagers doubled over in laughter.

"What's so funny!?" demanded Mio.

"What are you talking about?" asked the boy with six arms through his laughter. "Konaha never turned it's back on us!"

"Huh…?" Mio was confused.

"And Orochimaru-sama wan't forced to flee here," laughed Jiroubou. "He started this village outta hatred for Konaha!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Mio, becoming more and more perplexed by the minute.

"Obviously you've been beliving lies," said Tayuya after she stopped laughing.

"That's a lie itself!" Mio said. "Kabuto told me all about this place; he'd never lie to me!" The Sound Four laughed aloud again, harder this time.

"Are you kidding me?" asked the two headed kid. "He lies to _everyone_! He's so sneaky and deceiving it's unbelievable!"

"No he's not!" Mio cried. "I know Kabuto, and he's not like that." Tayuya approached Mio.

"You're just a gullible little girl, aren't you?" she said. "Come with me, and I'll prove you wrong." Although she didn't believe a word the Sound Four was saying, Mio followed Tayuya anyway, curious to see what she had to show her. The red head led her back into Orochimaru's lair down a flight of stairs, and up to the door which lead into Orochimaru's study.

"I don't want to go in there," Mio said. She didn't want to set foot in her master's room while he wasn't there because if she got caught, she'd get in trouble.

"Oh, grow a back bone, you chicken," Tayuya snapped at her. She pushed the door open and walked in without hesitation. Mio followed her, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light in the room.

Tayuya walked over to a bookcase in the far corner of the room. She reached up onto the highest shelf at the top and retrieved a small, ornate object.

It was a scroll. It was blue and gold and had a little music note on it. Tayuy handed it to Mio.

"Read it," she said.

Shrugging, Mio took the scroll, opened it up and started to read. As she read, she became more and more horrified.

The scroll hid battle plans, personal entries by Orochimaru, and secrets of Otogakure within it. Mio continued to read, a disbelieving expression crept onto her face. Tayuya smirked at her as poor Mio read.

After a few moments, Mio wanted to scream. The Sound Four was right. What Kabuto had told her were just lies and fibs. The truth was that Orochimaru used to be part of the Leaf Village, but left it to start this village. Also, he planned to take over Konaha one day. Horrible images flashed before Mio's eyes. She saw her home in ruins, with no one in it. Then she saw her brother and father dead or dying from battle casulaties. Mio dropped the scroll, for her hands started to tremble. Tayuya gave a sinister laugh.

"And that's not all," she said, almost tauntingly. "Lord Orochimaru can't learn and perfect all the known jutsu unless he keeps living; he keeps a bunch of human sacrifices around here.

Mio gasped. She was mortified beyond words. Sometimes at night she thought she would hear a distant scream or cry, but she would think it was just her ears.

"Not only that," Tayuya continued. "I guess your so-called 'boyfriend' didn't tell you how the Third Hokage really died…"

"No…" Mio murmured.

"Lord Orochimaru killed him."

This time, Mio really did scream. She clutched her head and tears filled her eyes. She couldn't believe it. She had been sucked into a false world that hid dreadful secrets. But what really hurt Mio was that she realized she had become one of the bad guys, and Kabuto was one of them. She fell to her knees and started to sob into the floor.

"I'll leave you to mull things over," Tayuya said, leaving the room.

Mio continued to cry her heart out. She could see her whole life as a ninja come crashing down around her. To make matters worse, she also saw her clean police record become full: She was a criminal! Suddenly the door opened. In stepped Kabuto. Mio leaped to her feet and stared him in the eye furiously.

"You lied to me!" she shouted. Kabuto took notice of the small blue scroll on the floor next to Mio, and his heart jumped into his throat.

"Mio, listen to me-" he began.

"Listen to you? _Listen to you!? _There's no way I'm listening to you!" Mio yelled. She tried to get by Kabuto so she could leave, but Kabuto caught her in an embrace.

"Mio-"

"Kabuto, let go of me!" she bawled, struggling against his arms. "Why would you do such a thing!? I trusted you!" Kabuto sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be pretty.

"I did such a thing because I love-"

"Well obviously you don't because if you really loved me you wouldn't have done it!" Kabuto loosed his hold around Mio. What was that supposed to mean? But Mio wasn't finished yet.

"I can't believe I fell for it… Hollow promises, empty affection, and _false words of love!_" She pushed Kabuto away from her and glared at him with tear-filled green eyes.

"Mio, you don't know what you're saying!" Kabuto said.

"I know very well what I'm saying, Kabuto Yakushi!" Mio snarled. She reached up to her head and began to untie her headband. "I've had enough of you, Orochimaru, and the whole damn Sound Village!" With that, she threw down her headband and ran out of the room.

Kabuto stood there, stunned. He bent down and picked up Mio's headband. The headband he had given her. Quickly, he dashed up out of the room, up the stairs, and expected to see Mio running down the hallway, but she was no where in sight.

"Mio!" he called for her, but there was no answer. Kabuto ran to Mio's bedroom and opened the door. She wasn't there. He ran outside and looked around the building. She wasn't there either. He ran back in the building, on his way to inform Orochimaru what happened, but along the way he ran into the Sound Four.

"What's the rush?" Tayuya demanded. "You could have run us over, idiot."

"Where's Mio?" Kabuto asked, ignoring the kunoichi. "Have you seen her?"

"Oh, we've seen her alright," Tayuya answered, a sly grin appearing on her face.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know, you tell me. Did she run off back to Konaha?" Kabuto stopped.

_The Leaf Village!_

--

_Mio continued to run through the woods. She wouldn't look back. It's not like she would see anything if she did anyway. Her tears blinded her. _

She dashed further into the forest, her arms and legs getting scratched by low hanging branches. Suddenly, Mio ran right into a tree, knocking herself down. Ignoring the pain that shot through her body, she scrambled up and continued to run.

The pain from running into the tree was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling on the inside now. She couldn't believe it. She had completely given herself to Kabuto, and for what? Nothing! She hadn't even fallen in love with the real Kabuto- Only a hurtful disguise he put on.

She regretted leaving Konaha. She knew if she went back, she would be a huge disappointment to her family, she would be locked in jail, and everyone would hate her. But she didn't care. Anywhere was better than Otogakure.

--

"She left."

"What do you mean she left?" Orochimaru eyed his devotee curiously. He had never seen Kabuto so panicked. He was shaking, and the frightened look in his eyes never wavered.

"She-she found out about Otogakure," he said finally. "So, she left."

"Don't tell me you were foolish enough to tell her the truth?" Orochimaru asked. He would be very angry with Kabuto if he had. But, the medic nin shook his head.

"No, I think it was Tayuya," he answered, frowning. Orochimaru sighed. He knew very well Mio would run back to the Leaf Village. Sometimes he could hear her crying softly about her dear brother and father at night. Still, she knew things about Otogakure, and couldn't be kept alive lest she divulge them to the Fifth Hokage.

"Kabuto-san," the Sannin said. "You do know the rules of the Sound Village, don't you? I need you to enforce them." Kabuto looked up at his master horrified.

"No, I won't!" he cried. Angry, Orochimaru wrapped his tongue around Kabuto's ankle, pulled his feet out from beneath him, pulled him foreward, glaring at him on the floor.

"You will do as I say, Kabuto," the snake man snarled. "You do want to prove yourself worthy of me, do you not?" A pained and confused expression showed itself on Kabuto face. Hesitantly, he got up.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll do it." Orochimaru smiled evily.

"Good boy," he cooed.


	11. Chapter 10

****

Chapter Ten

Mio was exhausted. She had been lost in this forest for one day, sleep and food deprived, alone, and broken hearted. She had cried out all her tears, and now she just wanted to be home with Daichi and Hatsuharu. Even if going home meant facing her mother, she didn't care. She just wanted this to be over.

After a while, Mio couldn't take it any longer. It was nearly dusk, and since she had gotten no sleep last night, she decided to lie near the trunk of a tree, and catch forty winks. Once she closed her eyes she was out like a light.

--

Kotetsu and Izumo continued to run towards the Leaf Village. The two of them had finished a mission, and were looking forward to going home. The two were silent until Izumo spoke.

"Kotetsu, look!" he said, pointing up ahead. Kotetsu followed his friend's finger. Up ahead, slumped against a tree, was a person. The two Chuunin ran up to the person, and looked her over.

She was a girl. Approximately twenty or nineteen years of age. She looked unconscious. She had cuts and scrapes all over her arms and legs, and she looked rather unhealthy.

"Who is she?" Izumo asked.

"I don't know," Kotetsu said. "She doesn't have a ninja headband, but she is wearing ninja clothes."

"We should probably take her back to Konaha," Izumo said. "Even if she is an enemy, at least we will be able to restrain her in the Leaf Village."

"You're right." Kotetsu bent down, and gingerly picked up the girl, who didn't wake up as she was moved.

Exchanging curt nods, the two Chuunin bounded off.

--

Mio was dreaming. Usually when she dreamed, there would be a vivid image in her mind, but not this time. This time, everything was black. Pure darkness. Mio wondered how long she was going to stay in the dark, until a bright light showed itself in the distace. Mio had always been told to, 'never walk towards the light', so she stayed away from the light. It got brighter, and brighter, and before she knew it, she was swallowed up by it.

Mio's vision came into slight focus.

She was lying in a bed, in a hospital room. Around the bed were three people. One man was Otomaru, who stood over her bed, a stony expression on his face. Another person was Orochimaru, who looked both terrified and furious. The third man was the reason why she had run away from Otogakure. None the less, Mio was glad to see him.

"Kabuto-kun," she murmured, raising her hand to touch his cheek.

"Mio-chan, you're awake!" Kabuto cried, joyfully. But his voice was not his own. Confused, Mio blinked her eyes.

It wasn't Kabuto at all. It was her older brother, Daichi. He smiled as Mio stared at him, trying to make sense of all this. She turned her head.

Otomaru and Orochimaru had disappeared as well. In Otomaru's place stood her father, Hatsuharu, and the other person was Amaya, her mother.

"Dad? Daichi? Mom? " was all Mio could say. Amaya shook her head vigorously as tears welled up in her eyes.

"No," she said. "Not anymore, girl, not anymore." With that, she left the room. Mio turned to her father and brother.

Hatsuharu started to cry. He leaned over and locked Mio in an embrace.

"Oh, Mio-chan, Mio-chan," he sobbed. "Why? _Why?_" Mio saw Daichi begin to cry as well. It pained her to see her family cry. Once Hatsuharu had let go of his daughter, she asked, "What happened?"

"Yesterday, we got a call that Izumo and Kotetsu had found you unconscious on the outskirts of Konaha," Hatsuharu said. "We rushed to the hospital as fast as we could." Hatsuharu looked at Mio with pain filled eyes. "Mio-chan… How could you?… How could you?…"

"What?" Mio asked. Her mind was still a little bit foggy.

"You left," Daichi said. "Why did you leave?" He sniffed as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "The night you went missing, we were all looking for you. We couldn't find you at all. We were so upset."

Mio felt a stab of pain. She could've cared less about upsetting Amaya, but seeing her brother and father in this state killed her. She felt a lump form in her throat.

"He… He lied to me," Mio said. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

"Mio, who lied to you?" Hatsuharu asked.

"Kabuto," Mio answered. The mention of his name ripped Mio's heart in half, but she tried to ignore the sensation and continued. "After that fight I had with Mom… We found each other. I was already falling in love with him, so it made it easier for him to persuade me. He told me if I came to Otogakure with him, I'd become a ninja, and I'd be safe from all the fighting. He told me the war between Oto and Konaha was because the Leaf Village stole something from the Sound. It was all a lie, and I believed him." Mio began to cry softly.

Daichi's hands clenched into fists. He got up quickly, knocking his chair down. "If I ever find that guy, I'm going to-"

"Daichi, calm down, there's nothing we can do," Hatsuharu said. He turned back and looked at Mio.

Hatsuharu Okayama had known his daughter all his life… Or had he? Since the time Mio was born, Amaya always looked after her. Hatusharu only knew Mio as his daughter. He couldn't believe he didn't know that one of his own children was easily swayed and gullible. He was a terrible father.

"Mio-chan…" he murmured, "My poor, misguided Mio…Would you come to live with me in my new apartment?"

"What're you talking about, Dad?" Mio asked.

"About a month after you left, your mother and I got divorced," Hatsuharu explained. "I'm sorry to inform you, Mio, but Amaya doesn't consider you her daughter anymore, so will you come live with me?" Despite her hate for her mother, Mio was hurt to know Amaya didn't acknowlege her as part of her family anymore. None the less, she nodded her head, feebly.

"Yes, Daddy," she said. For probably the first time in her life, Mio felt very close to her father. Suddenly, a thought entered her mind.

"Am I going to be locked away for the rest of my life?" she asked. "Am I going to be executed? I ran away to an enemy village; I'm a criminal!" She began to sob.

"We're going to discuss that with the Fifth Hokage tomorrow," Hatsuharu said.

"Who is the Fifth now?" Mio asked. "I know the Third got killed. Kabuto told me." There was that name again. A little bit of herself died inside again.

"Her name's Tsunade," Hatsuharu said. "One of the Three Legendary Sanin." "The new Hokage's a girl?" Mio said.

"Who said the Hokage couldn't be a woman?" Daichi asked.

--

Mio stood before the Fifth Hokage, and her assistant, Shizune, shackled, in her office. Mio gazed sadly at her, but studied her at the same time.

Lady Tsunade was a very beautiful woman. She had blonde hair, amber eyes, long eyelashes, and full lips. Despite being pretty, Tsunade showed no sympathy for Mio; It was all bussiness.

"So, tell me why you left Konaha in the first place," she said.

"I…I…" Mio sighed. "I wanted to become a ninja." Tsunade frowned.

"You could've become one here, you know," she said, unamused. Mio shook her head.

"No, I-I couldn't," she said.

"Why not?"

"My mother wouldn't let me," Mio answered. Tsunade didn't seem convinced. Hatsuharu, who was sitting to the side of the room, stepped in.

"She's telling the truth, Lady Hokage," he said. "She asked my ex wife if she could join the ninja academy for as long as I could remember, but she kept saying no."

"I'm not very convinced," Tsunade said, bluntly. "Why wouldn't your mother let you become a kunoichi?"

"Because she's a chauvinist," Mio said. "She thought it was improper for women to become ninja." Mio sighed. "Lady Tsunade, I'm telling the truth. Ask Ibiki Morino or Anko Mitarashi, they'll tell you the same thing."

"We don't need to ask them right now," Tsunade said. "What I want to know now is why you even thought of leaving the Leaf Village for pursuing a career. Do you realize how much trouble you'd be in if you were a real ninja!?"

"I also left the village because…" Mio bit her lip. "…Because I fell in love…"

"With a Sound Nin!?" Shizune cried.

"Shizune, hold your tongue!" Tsunade ordered. She tunred back to Mio. "Who did you fall for?"

"I…" Mio felt tears well up in her eyes. "I fell in love with Kabuto Yakushi."

"Omigod!" Shizune cried, surprised.

"Shizune!" Tsunade barked. She scrutinized Mio for a moment. "And what happened?"

"I've never known anything about shinobi," Mio said. "So, when Kabuto told me all the lies about the Leaf Village and the Sound Village, I believe him. He just… He just seemed so sincere and convincing."

"What lies did he tell you?" Tsunade asked.

"He told me the reason Otogakure was invading Konaha was because you stole something from their village. He told me if I ran away to the Sound Village, I'd be free of my mother, and I would be able to become a ninja even without being educated at the academy." Mio began to sob, as her tears rolled down her cheeks. Tsunade was silent for a moment.

"Okay," she said. She got up, walked over to Mio, and undid her shackles, letting them fall on the floor with a loud clang. Tsuande looked into the nineteen year old's eyes.

"Mio-san, did you find anything out about Orochimaru?" she asked. Mio nodded.

"I found a scroll with all his plans and plots in it," she said. Tsunade raised her eyebrows and gestured to a chair.

"Sit yourself down, and tell us," she said. "With that information we'll be able to keep him away from the Hidden Leaf Village better."

"Alright," Mio said, sitting down on the chair. "The first thing I read was…"

--

Mio woke up to someone shaking her. With some difficulty, she opened her eyes to see her father holding her.

"Mio-chan, calm down, it's alright," Hatsuharu said. Mio's pillow was wet, as well as her eyes, and she had a stuffed up nose. She had been crying in her sleep.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I heard you yelling for Kabuto in the other room," Hatsuharu said. Mio sighed. She couldn't even remember what she was dreaming about, but it was obviously about her and the Medic ninja. Hatsuharu looked Mio in the eye.

"Mio, for the past few nights you've been crying for that boy," he said, "and every time I ask you, you tell me you hate him and that you're over him. Can I have the truth now?" Mio felt a fresh wave of tears drench her eyes.

"I'm still in love with him, Dad," she sobbed. Hatsuharu hugged her as Mio began to weep.

"I don't want to love him," she cried. "I really don't, but, I still love him with all my heart!"

"It's okay, Mio-chan," Hatsuharu cooed. He pulled away from his daughter. "I know you love him; You're a kind, affectionate girl, and you gave your heart to him. But within time, the hurting will go away," he said.

"Is that what you felt like when you and Mom got divorced?" Mio asked. Hatsuharu nodded.

"Yes, but I got over her," he said. He cleared his throat. "While we're on the subject, Mio-chan, I realized recently that I haven't been the best father in the world to you, and I know saying sorry won't fix things-"

"Yes it will," Mio said. "Dad, if you say sorry, it'll all be alright. Please say it… Please…" Hatsuharu looked at Mio.

"I'm sorry, Mio-chan," he said, after a pause. "I'm very, very sorry."

"It's okay," Mio sniffed.

"If it makes you feel any better, the Hokage stopped me on our way out of her office a couple of days back," Hatsuharu said, "and she told me that although you ran away, you have come back and given us information on the Sound Village. She's going to let you become a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Mio smiled. She needed to hear something like that at a time like this.

--

For the first time in a while, Mio slept soundly. She was determined to get a good night's sleep, for tomorrow, she'd start her career with her new team as a ninja. She didn't have her bandana yet, but Tsunade told her she would receive it tomorrow. Mio continued to sleep peacefully, as her opened window let the moonlight stream in to the room.

Someone else was in her room with her.

Kabuto stood at the foot of her bed, holding a kunai knife in his hands. He didn't want to do this. But what choice did he have? He silently walked over to the side of Mio's bed and gazed upon her face.

She looked so serene and undisturbed. He couldn't do this. There was no way. Kabuto was about to put the kunai away and leave, but suddenly, the kunoichi's eyes flew upon and saw him.. With cat like reflexes, Mio pinned Kabuto to the ground, and wrenched the kunai out of his hands. She held it at his throat.

"What're you doing here, traitor?" she hissed. She pressed the kunai dangerously against Kabuto's throat.

"No, Mio, don't," he said. "I wasn't going to-"

"You tell me what you're doing here right now, or I'm going to shove this kunai right through your throat," Mio threatened. She pressed the kunai blade a little more against Kabuto's skin. Smirking, the Sound ninja flipped Mio over, and held her aginast the floor by her wrists.

"I came to say goodbye," he said. Mio glared at him.

"You're lying," she said. "You're built up on lies, Kabuto Yakushi. I'm never ever believing you again."

"You're right," the shinobi admitted. "I am nothing but lies, but there is some truth in me, Mio-chan, and I want to show you that truth now."

"Lies, lies, and more lies," Mio spat. "Why don't you just save your breath and kill me, Yakushi? That's what you came to do anyway."

"I'm not going to kill you," Kabuto promised. "I was supposed to come kill you, but I'm not." Mio looked into Kabuto's dark eyes, and she was immideately drowned in love. Who was she kidding? She could hate him all she wanted, but deep down, she would still love him. Who cared if he was lying? Who cared if he really was going to kill her? All that mattered now was that he was here with her. Mio's eyes got teary.

"Don't cry, Mio-chan," Kabuto said, softly.

"I-I've missed you," Mio sniffed. Kabuto lowered his head and kissed her slowly, and softly. Mio dropped the kunai in her hands and closed her eyes. She expected Kabuto to raise the knife over her head and kill her, but he did no such thing. Mio was both relieved and grateful.

"Here's the deal," Kabuto said, breaking up the kiss. "I killed you, okay? You're dead as far as Orochimaru-sama will know. If Otogakure ever claims war on Konaha again, and Orochimaru's there, I want you to stay out of his sight. Agreed?"

"Yes," Mio nodded. Kabuto leaned over and whispered in Mio's ear, "Keep yourself safe, Mio."

"Don't worry…" Mio laughed softly. "If you worry too much you'll age quickly." Kabuto chuckled as well and got off her. Mio got up, and watched Kabuto begin to climb out her window. Before he bounded off though, Mio asked, "Will I ever see you again?" Kabuto faced her.

"Maybe," he said, "on the battle fields. But we will be enemies then."

"Then I hope I never see you again," Mio said, sadly.

"And I you," Kabuto nodded. To another, saying something like that to your lover would be a slap in the face, but to Mio and Kabuto, wishing they'd never see each other again was something they both wanted. For the sake of their villages. For the sake of their loyalties. And for the sake of their love.

Before Kabuto left, he gave Mio one last kiss goodbye. The two of them didn't want to separate, but reality had to set in sooner or later.

"Until next time, or never, Mio-chan," Kabuto said.

"Until next time, or never, Kabuto-kun," Mio said, nodding. With that, Kabuto leaped off into the night, leaving Mio to stand at the window, alone with her thoughts.

**_The End_**

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**Well, this was the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing this. Hope everyone enjoyed reading it. Thank you to the people who reviwed and who added this story to their alert/faves :)**


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